Graveyard Girl
by owlloveyou
Summary: She stared down at the Ouija board, watching what little smoke left behind from the fire pit snake out from underneath the board and curl around it before crawling to the sky. The candle lights flickered ominously, casting a surreal glaze of orange light over the board and her friend's faces. She knew better than to do this, and so she knew she deserved what would come.
1. I

**I. DIG UP HER BONES.**

* * *

"You've just been acting weird, Megumi."

Fashionably tousled brown hair lay just above thick lashes as honey brown eyes glanced to the side, outside the café window.

It was a large coffee shop with businessmen on their lunches and saleswomen in line for their obligatory one P.M. caffeine shot. At the small, square table next to the entrance in front of the bow window sat two young adults.

"You're not the same and it's kind of worrying." He glanced to the ebony haired girl who had yet to look up at him.

Her hands lay in her lap and she took more interest in the creamy coffee that sat in front of her. She tried listening to anything else, paying attention to anything else. She didn't want to look up at him. She knew she wouldn't like what she'd see.

She knew what was happening.

She focused on the little design the barista made in her coffee with the creamer, the pattern of a leaf's veins and its shape. She forced herself to examine the colors, noting the coffee beneath the vanilla creamer reminded her of her eye color.

"And you're tense all the time and paranoid," he continued. "You're restless at night when you're not having nightmares and you won't even look at me when we're…" He slowed to a stop and then drew a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess I'm dragging this out, huh?"

She didn't respond.

"I guess it just hasn't been the same since we all got back from the camping trip. And it's been a while and… I'm worried about you."

She didn't respond.

"I guess… just know I still care about you. We've been together for so long. You've been a good part of my life, you know?"

He hoped she would respond this time. She didn't.

"I've tried everything I could to be supportive but you don't want help," he said. "You don't even look at me anymore. Your eyes are always on the ground around me. It hurts."

He didn't expect any response at this point; he knew he wouldn't receive one.

"I don't know what I did to make you change your feelings about me, but I'm sorry."

She felt a twinge of guilt twist the cords in her heart but she still did not open her mouth to speak.

"Maybe in the future one day, you know? When things are sorted out… when you sort things out, we can give it another try."

She held back the stinging in her eyes, the burning in the bridge of her nose. He was just being courteous.

"So… I guess this is it?" he chuckled pathetically and stood up, placing some money on the table, including the tip. "I'll… see you around, Megu."

He walked past her slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. He hoped he'd hear her utter something—anything. Just to get closure so he could feel better about this. He was already done; he just wanted to make sure she was too.

When he stepped through the door, he hoped it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him, because he could have sworn he heard a faint whisper of the familiar, sweet voice he knew.

"Bye, Yamato."

He glanced back at her, finding she hadn't moved an inch. Her head still shifted towards her cup, black curls lying over her shoulder.

He stepped out of the café and didn't bother looking back.

When she heard the jingle of the bell from the closing door, she blinked away the tears and gathered the courage to look up from her coffee. And there one stood, a new one: pellucid and bright green. Scrawny limbs attached to a slouchy, fat body.

The monsters that plagued her since the camping trip. The ghoul, about as big as the menu a worker had taken from her table about fifteen minutes ago, grinned widely at her with sharp teeth and taunted her with its disgusting laughter.

She glanced around the café, noting nobody was close by to her. She glared down at the monster and then out the window, watching Yamato walk away. He was followed by the same kind of translucent beings that haunted her.

Grotesque, large bugs; devilish, creepy imps; and morbid ghouls… he didn't have the slightest clue he was being followed. None of them did apparently… except for her. She could have sworn they were all in denial as she tried telling them before.

She turned her glare back onto the monster, who was snickering now.

"Leave me alone," she hissed. "Be gone."

"You wanted to play with the other realms," the ghoul cackled.

Megumi glanced around the café to see if anyone else could hear. Nobody could.

"One day you may find a way to get rid of us but you played where you shouldn't. More of us will just come around. You've angered the wrong being."

It vanished, dispersed—practically ' _poofed'_ —into thin air, and she quickly gathered her belongings and left the café. She cautiously looked around her, hoping to not see the one being she feared most. She briskly walked to the only place they seemed to leave her alone—why, she wasn't sure. But since it all began, it was her safe haven.

She stepped foot inside her work, welcoming the smell of hair products and perfumes, and glanced behind her to see the ghouls and monsters were gone. Heaving a sigh of relief, Megumi walked to her station and glanced at the time on the wall. Her lunch was over but her next client wouldn't be here for another half-hour.

The salon was trendy chic, totally modern for the nineties and brimming with style of the youth and young adults in the fashion world. On the walls were professional photographs of models sporting hairstyles from grunge to red carpet acceptable. The newest pop hits played softly from the ceiling speakers but sometimes the radio host would bless them with the golden oldies of their nation. The stations were personalized with the stylist's materials, ranging from frilly pink to plain and clean to street punk dirty.

Her own station fell into the category of "clean and boring," mainly because she didn't like her work space cluttered... and because she wasn't a hair stylist and therefore didn't get much work space.

She sat in her chair and began looking through her nail polish collection, remembering which ones were becoming more popular and which were falling behind in the season's trends. She began rearranging them in order of most popular to least as a heavy trance beat vibrated through the air.

She was noticeably upset because Mom's advice wasn't working.

 _"If you're ever bothered by a spirit, you tell them to leave you alone," she said simply one day when Megumi was sixteen. Her slender mother stood in front of the bathroom mirror tying her black hair into a tight bun. "Harmless spirits will listen."_

 _"And what if they're not harmless?" Megumi asked at the doorway._

 _Her mother shrugged. "Sometimes you wait it out and see if they leave. If things become dangerous then you need to seek help from Grandmama or Grandpa."_

 _Megumi didn't want to say the words but she knew she had to ask. The couple were far in their golden years after all. "And… what if they've passed on when I need help?"_

 _Her mother sighed sadly. "You'll need to find help from someone else. You know Grandmama only told us the basics because we said we didn't want to lead a spiritual life like her."_

Where was she going to get help?

Yamato didn't believe her and neither did Michiru or Kenji. They were in denial of anything being strange let alone _wrong_. None of them were spiritual, Grandmama died last year, Grandpa had been dead for years now, Mom wasn't that gifted, Dad wasn't gifted at all, and she didn't know anyone else who could help.

Where could she go?

She'd only ever dealt with ghosts and even then she just told them to leave her alone, and like her mother said, they did. She'd never had a problem until the camping trip. She knew it was a bad idea…

Mom wasn't that great a help with her limited knowledge so she didn't bother burdening the aging woman. Megumi knew she had to find someone who knew what they were doing—someone who was truly spiritual—because she already tried the local shrine and they were a crock of shit.

She wished she took up her grandmother's offer to lead a spiritual life…

Where could she find someone who knew how to rid evil spirits?

"Something wrong, Ijiri?"

Megumi glanced up to her coworker, watching the brunette pass by.

"You're looking kind of glum."

"Oh…" Megumi forced a smile but it faded quickly. "Uh… Yamato and I just ended our relationship."

Her coworker gave a sympathetic frown. "How are you holding up?"

"Well, I saw it coming." Megumi shrugged, glancing out the shop window to see if her ghouls were still lingering. The same green monster from earlier snickered and waved at her before disappearing. Megumi frowned. "It hurts, but I guess since I saw it coming it doesn't hurt as bad as it should."

Her coworker glanced out the window and then back at Megumi.

"A couple of my friends and I are getting together tonight," she said. "Typical girls' night. Wine, liquor, food, and cheesy videos. You're welcome to join if you want."

Megumi gave an appreciative smile before glancing out the window again, remembering her predicament.

"Well, actually… I really appreciate it, Kuwabara, but I'd hate to impose—"

"Well, actually, I changed my mind. It's not an invitation; it's nonnegotiable." She shrugged nonchalantly before heading to her station. "You're coming and you're going to forget Yamato for the night."

Megumi sighed despite the smile creeping up on her lips. Maybe it would be a good idea… maybe the ghouls would leave her alone if she pretended to not notice them for the night. One of the best ways to make someone stop bullying you, aside from getting help from an authority figure, was to act like you weren't fazed by their antics…

"Sure!" Megumi thanked her coworker.

As she began her next customer's manicure, she was rightfully excited to take her mind off her troubles—maybe this would actually work out! Her mood dipped a bit as she remembered that if she had just pushed a bit harder for everyone to stop, then maybe she wouldn't be in this mess…

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

With the moon peeking a little over the horizon in the night, a white Toyota sedan headed down a dirt road of the quiet outskirts of Mushiyori. Michiru, in the back seat, rolled down her window to smell the crisp spring air. They were coming up to the mountains and would be in the woods soon, and all but one in their group was excited.

"Yuzuha said she saw a kappa when she went up here!" Michiru said excitedly, practically leaning out of the window. "In the cave's river!"

Megumi smirked, rolled her eyes, and sent a glance to Yamato, who was driving. She then looked over her shoulder to her friend. "Kappa's are just a myth."

"So are tsuchigumos!" Yamato argued, rolling to a stop in front of the large wood sign that read 'Makihara Nature Conservation Area'. "But people have been saying they've seen some wandering around!"

"Uh-huh. And just how are we supposed to find them?" Megumi asked as everyone began exiting the sedan.

Yamato popped the trunk as Megumi got out of the car and hiked her backpack over her shoulder. The group began pulling out their camping belongings as Yamato appeared from behind the car to show her something that made her skin crawl.

A Ouija board.

"No!" Megumi yelped, stepping away from them. "No, we don't mess with the dead, you guys!"

"It's just a _myth_ , remember?" Michiru snickered, pinning her long brown hair to her head with a clip.

"No, we don't disturb the dead—"

"This place is crawling with the supernatural, Megu." Yamato inched to her, trying to wrap his arms around his girlfriend.

"No, you're touching that! Don't touch me when you're touching that," she squealed, practically running to the other side of the car and stopping in front of the hood. "Get rid of that!"

"You're superstitious about ghosts but can't believe that people have been seeing youkai?" Kenji asked.

"I've seen ghosts," Megumi replied promptly, earning smirks and eye rolls from Michiru and Kenji. "I know not to disturb them, especially not over something as trivial and _fake_ as urban legends about _youkai."_

Kenji turned on a flashlight. "You can stay in the car if you want but I know I'm headed into the woods. This is the perfect place to talk to the dead."

"I'm going too," Michiru said, following after her boyfriend. "This place just _screams_ 'creepy'."

"Perfect place?" Megumi asked, watching her friends and boyfriend start towards the forestry.

"Remember that weird pillar of light that shot out the ground like three years ago?" Michiru asked. "It's said to have led to the cave in these mountains."

"A lot of people in the city also experienced some weird things around the same time. And it wasn't from ghosts," Yamato added.

"Plus, this is the best place to get info about it all because there's Irima's cave."

Megumi paled. "No—no we're not going to disturb people there!"

"Come on, they're suicide victims." Michiru grabbed Megumi's hand. "They'll take any attention they can get!"

Michiru dragged Megumi into the woods with them, reassuring her it wasn't that big a deal and confiding in her that she didn't believe in much of the stuff Yamato and Kenji were into. She was just in it for the thrill and fun, to have a night of adventure.

Megumi was uncomfortable as they reached the entrance to Irima's cave, nervous about seeing someone's soul wandering about.

"It's a clear night, let's set up camp in the open so we can see the stars," Yamato offered and everyone but Megumi quickly agreed.

"Full moon," Kenji taunted, handing her a bunch of large candles. "The crazies, spirits, and youkai are out tonight."

"Shut up." Megumi rolled her eyes and refused to help them set up the camp by setting the candles on the ground in silent protest. She taunted back with faux enthusiasm. "Oooh, _full moon_! Bet we'll find some werewolves too, _huh?_ Kenji?"

Her taunt only backfired because Kenji's eyes lit up. "Maybe."

Megumi groaned and eyed the area, feeling uneasy about her surroundings. She remembered her grandmother's words to never disturb the dead—if they wanted to talk to you they would try on their own first.

After they set up camp and started a little fire pit in a circle of rocks, Megumi eased into her group of friends as they focused more on getting drunk and playing board and card games. Her ease was squashed the moment Kenji checked his watch for the fifth time that night.

"It's almost one in the morning, guys," he said, reaching for the Ouija board. "Let's get everything set up."

Megumi tensed and Yamato pulled her close, resting his chin atop her head. "Don't worry! We're not going to be mean; we just want to talk to them! That won't make them angry. Right, Megu?"

"We just shouldn't disturb the dead," Megumi grumbled, tucking a curled lock of black hair behind her ear.

"I think they'll like the company, we can ask questions about them!" Michiru encouraged. "Maybe they're friendly."

"Friendly ghosts can get angry…" Megumi side-glanced to the cave's entrance, feeling a soft rumble of unease in her stomach.

Yamato poured a bottle of water on the fire, putting it out.

"Come on, we won't be mean!" Kenji said, setting up the board as Michiru began lighting candles and setting them up around the group. "Hear that, ghosts? We want to get to know you!"

"Shhhh!" Megumi hissed, smacking Kenji in the arm.

He jumped slightly, laughing childishly as he set the board where the little fire pit just was, resting the evil toy on the little circle of rocks.

The four sat in a small circle around the board. Megumi watched as everything was set up, and reluctantly, slowly, placed one hand in Yamato's and the other in Kenji's. They were silent for a few moments, patiently waiting for one of them to begin. Everyone jumped in fright as Kenji let out a howl, like a wolf crying for the moon. Megumi nearly jumped out of her skin, squealing in fright.

Kenji chuckled at her reaction and Megumi punched him in the arm, growling. "You're really getting on my nerves, Kenji."

Kenji leaned in towards Megumi, a devious smile on his face. "It's a full moon. Who knows what we'll get tonight."

Megumi bristled, scowl deepening. She could feel something wrong in the pit of her stomach because of his stupid howl. "This is asinine and you are too."

"It's just a game, Megu," Yamato said, placing a quick kiss on her temple. "Come on, lighten up."

She slowly placed her hands in theirs again. She stared down at the Ouija board, watching what little smoke was left behind from the fire pit snake out from underneath the board and curl around it before crawling to the sky. The candle lights flickered ominously to Megumi, casting a surreal glaze of orange light over the board and her friend's faces.

"Oh, kind spirits of the park," Kenji started, and Michiru repressed a snicker. "We call upon you all to talk to us, share your stories and knowledge of the unknown in this vast land."

Megumi glanced to her friends; all of them had their eyes closed… Scared, she looked at her surroundings, feeling something stirring in the air.

Her eyes landed on the forestry yards away, finding a young woman at the edge of the woods. Megumi knew in her gut they had all messed up—they were in for it—that woman didn't seem happy and she sure as hell didn't seem alive. She couldn't see the woman's face as her dark hair seemed to shadow her features.

The group opened their eyes. Everyone put their fingertips on the planchette and Megumi slowly followed suit, watching the woman at the edge of the woods with fearful eyes.

"Oh, spirits. If you're here, please give us a sign," Yamato called.

Megumi watched as a translucent hand came into her view of the Ouija board. A thin, broken-nailed index finger touched the planchette and began nudging it around.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as the planchette began spelling out the reply.

 _"…Leave?"_ Michiru asked in disbelief and sent her irritated gaze immediately to Megumi. "Megumi, stop being a party-shitter."

"I didn't do that!" Megumi squeaked in fright. "I swear… We should really leave, you guys! Let's stop this."

"What's your name, spirit?" Yamato asked.

Megumi glanced to the woman who was now squatting beside Michiru. Megumi took in the woman's dirty, bloody, and torn, white business blouse and pencil skirt. She was barefoot and her nylons had runs. Her black hair was matted against her face, preventing Megumi from seeing any facial features.

They watched as the planchette moved again.

" _Yayoi. Leave,_ " Kenji read. "Hm… one more question, miss."

Megumi looked to the ghost pleadingly and mouthed: "I'm so sorry… Please don't be angry…"

The planchette moved again.

" _Leave or truly be sorry,"_ Michiru read.

"How did you die?" Kenji asked.

Megumi watched the woman turn her head to Kenji. Nobody seemed to actually _see_ her and Megumi wasn't surprised at the fact.

"Leave her alone, Kenji," Megumi whispered. "She doesn't want to talk to us."

"Then why does she keep replying?" Yamato whispered to her.

Megumi glanced to the woman. The planchette was moving on its own as the woman gently tilted her head to the side, letting her hair fall out the way of her face. As her head moved, her skin inched with her, splitting open and… showing the deep, horizontal, crimson slit.

 _"…Murder?!"_ Michiru gasped as Megumi noted the woman's eyes were gone—gouged out. "But Irima's Cave is supposed to be a suicide spot!"

Dried, caked blood around the orifices where her eyes used to be were darker than the night. Deep gashes and scratches littered her face: the apples of her sharp cheekbones, her lips, chin, bridge of her nose, arches of her brows…

"Who killed you, Yayoi?" Kenji asked.

"Stop, Kenji," Megumi breathed, eyes fixated on the translucent, torn skin.

"Who killed you?" he asked again a bit more forceful, desperate.

Megumi's jaw dropped open in horror as the woman leaned towards her, stretching her jaw wide open. It stretched inhumanly large enough to convince Megumi her head was soon going to be inside that dark hole and her body would be on the ground, spurting blood from an open neck.

Petrified, she stared inside the mouth's darkness, watching the once human teeth morph into fangs—like something from a shark—until the shrill screech of a banshee came out of the morbid darkness. Megumi screamed in fright and closed her eyes, slapping her hands over her ears.

The screaming stopped abruptly and the candles flickered out. The spirit was gone.

Smoke snaked in the air around the group as they sat in silence, stunned. The darkness returned around them, their only light the moon above in the clear night sky.

"What's wrong, Megu?!" Yamato asked, quickly wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

None of them heard the scream…

"There's no wind…" Michiru's voice shook. "There was no wind to blow out all the candles!"

Kenji stared down at the board in shock. "What did you hear, Megumi?"

Megumi glanced to the woods and then over her shoulder to the entrance of the cave in hopes of finding the woman, but she was gone.

"She's… she's really angry…" Megumi trembled in Yamato's embrace, eyes glued to the dark entrance behind her.

A heavy atmosphere settled upon the group, all of them looking at the cave's entrance.

* * *

 **THE SALON**

"Ready, Ijiri?" Shizuru asked as Megumi put on her thin, black jacket.

"Are you sure you don't mind me coming, Kuwabara?" she asked for the third time since Shizuru's last customer left.

The two of them have been coworkers for years now, ever since Megumi moved up here to live with her grandmother. Megumi was the manicurist of the salon and she enjoyed watching Shizuru do her client's hair. The brunette was simply talented with a pair of scissors.

Never before had she heard a complaint from any customer about Shizuru. She even had Shizuru trim her hair and anyone who knew Megumi knew she treasured her easy-to-curl, soft hair.

They talked on breaks and before work started, but never before had Shizuru actually invited Megumi anywhere with her. They were "friends," but mainly because they were coworkers. Coworkers first and foremost, and because of that, Megumi wondered if she would be able to hold a conversation outside of work with her.

"Yes," Shizuru replied tiredly. "I wouldn't invite someone I didn't want to be around."

Megumi smiled and grabbed her purse. "Alright, let's go!"

Shizuru walked ahead of Megumi, who glanced around out of habit the moment she stepped outside the salon… And there she stood in all her translucent glory.

Megumi's breath caught in her throat and her body went cold as she noticed the ghost woman's mutilated face in the crowded street. Bustling people walked past her, in front of her, but each time they moved on, she was still there.

"You okay?" Shizuru asked as she locked up the salon.

Megumi tore her eyes away from the woman and gave a weak smile to her coworker.

She tried her hardest to keep her voice from trembling. "Yeah, let's go!"

Megumi turned to walk with Shizuru and sent one last glance over her shoulder to see the woman.

She was gone.


	2. II

**II. BRANDY, YOU'RE A FINE GIRL.**

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

Kenji howled with laughter, his baritone voice echoing down the mountain. "This is so cool! Holy shit!"

"No, Kenji, it's not! She's pissed off!" Megumi snapped, eyes stinging with tears.

"Did you really see her?" Michiru leaned towards Megumi. "Did you really, Megu?"

"She's really pissed off, you guys…" Megumi curled into Yamato's hold, who finally decided to glance over his shoulder and into the dark cave. Megumi looked over her shoulder again, following Yamato's gaze. "What?"

Yamato looked to Kenji with a devious grin, and the supernatural enthusiast returned it with glee.

"Let's go find her!" Kenji stood up and grabbed a flashlight in one hand and his Svedka bottle in the other.

"No! No, don't fucking make her angrier, Kenji!" Megumi snapped as Yamato let her go and stood up as well. "This is the part where we do as she says and _leave_!"

"Come on, you know this is all just for fun anyway, Megu," Yamato said, leaning over to smile at her. "Let's just go apologize."

Michiru stood up and followed Kenji, voice trembling. "Wait, you guys! I really think we should just go home...!"

Megumi turned around to watch her friends disappearing in the cave's darkness. She was determined to not go in there. She turned back around and faced the woods in front of her.

After just seconds, she was enveloped with a strong sense of fear—true terror. She stared into the woods, apprehensive. Someone was out there—was it the woman? Someone else…? She couldn't tell… All she knew with certainty was she was being watched with what felt like thousands of eyes.

She looked around her, checking over her shoulder repeatedly in suspicion of someone—no, some _thing_ —sneaking up behind her. The shift in the air, the soft breaths, the footfalls that mixed in her heartbeat... But every time she looked, nothing was there.

But something had to be. She felt it… She was being watched… by more than one being.

With shaky knees, she stood as quickly as she could.

Yamato had the keys to the car. Civilization was a good few kilometers out, so walking in the night... with this going on...

"You… you guys?" she yelled after them as she found the strength to run to the cave. "Wait!"

* * *

 **THE KUWABARA HOUSEHOLD**

"Thanks for having me over," Megumi said quietly as she took off her black kitten heels at the front door.

"Hey, Kazu!" Shizuru called as she walked into the living room.

Megumi took in the nice wood floors and beige walls of the home as she walked into the small hallway. It was quite cute and nice, reminded her of Mom and Dad's home back in the suburbs of Tokyo.

She scanned over the family pictures on the wall, some were a younger Kuwabara with a little boy and others were school photos of them separately… One portrait in particular stuck out to Megumi: a woman with light brown, orange-tinted hair and familiar eyes. Her portrait was framed in black.

A voice called from the stairs, dragging Megumi's attention away from the picture. "Yeah?"

As Megumi stepped into the living room, she glanced over to the stairs, finding the little boy with orange-brown hair from the photos all grown up. He was a handsome young man and she smiled up at him before bowing her head a little.

As she raised her head, she noticed the strange look on his face. Like he smelled something bad and saw something creepy all in one.

"This is my coworker." Shizuru nodded to the ebony haired girl, who was confused at the boy's expression. "Ijiri, Megumi. Iriji, this is my younger brother, Kazuma."

"It's… nice to meet you," Megumi said softly, slightly offended.

Kazuma quickly fixed his expression and gave her a welcoming smile. "Nice to meet you!"

"Send Yukina on down, yeah?" Shizuru said, headed towards the kitchen. "The girls will be here soon."

"Sure. Don't be too loud, Sis." Kazuma turned around, waving her off. "I have a mock exam tomorrow."

"Uh-huh, you got it," she replied.

Megumi slowly followed Shizuru into the kitchen to find the brunette pulling the cork off a bottle of red wine.

"What's your poison?" Shizuru asked, nodding to the full bottle.

"Oh… uh…" Megumi glanced around the kitchen. "Brandy?"

Shizuru smirked and went to the pantry. "Kazuma likes to say we're our own little liquor shop." She opened the door and bent down to pull out a bottle of dirty gold. "Ah, figured we'd have some."

She couldn't help but feel awkward here. Kuwabara's little brother didn't seem to like her and now Megumi couldn't think of any conversation to start with her coworker. She was beginning to think of excuses to head home as soon as possible. It was times like this she wished she was a teenager again so she could say her mother wanted her to come home right now _immediately._ Being in her twenties and living alone meant she was stuck to think of a believable, inoffensive excuse—and there weren't many.

The doorbell rang, and a soft, feminine voice from the living room called out. "I'll get it!"

"Ice?" Shizuru asked, finding a thick glass from one of the cupboards.

"Yes, please." Megumi smiled.

"Oh, a guest!" Another voice squealed in delight.

Megumi turned around to see the people she'd be spending the night with she couldn't find and excuse, and saw… Well, at least one seemed _normal_. But two girls, both with hair in the gradient of blue and eyes in the pools of red stood before her.

Contacts, she thought as she stared with wide eyes. And dye job. Totally contacts and dye job. Done by someone with a hell of a lot of talent because those were _damn_ good dye jobs.

It was strange, though, seeing how the girls who adorned these extravagant and bright colors weren't the usual street punks that wore the look. Both girls wore stylish, frilly clothes—the one with the color of hair like blue cotton candy enjoyed high-waist khaki slacks and a forest green blouse.

She glanced to the girl with the mint blue hair, noting the pretty, pink cardigan and matching headband.

No way could they be delinquents… so why did they choose those colors? Were they in the Harajuku scene? It was getting popular…

"It's nice to meet you." Megumi broke out of her trance and gave a smile.

She glanced to the other girl with long, darker brown hair.

"Left to right." Shizuru said, standing next to Megumi and handing her the glass. "Keiko, Botan, and Yukina. This is Ijiri, Megumi, my coworker."

"Nice to meet you!" All three girls chimed around the same time.

Keiko heaved up a couple bags that had warmth emitting from them—Megumi could feel it from her seat. "Glad I brought extra! I didn't think we'd have a new friend over."

"Yeah, Megumi just got dumped so I invited her," Shizuru said blandly, passing the ebony haired girl by.

Megumi bristled and blushed. "H-hey!"

Shizuru sent a playful smirk her way as Keiko and Botan immediately rushed to Megumi.

"Oh, dear, how are you taking it?" Botan leaned against the counter next to Megumi, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to send him prank calls?"

"Botan, honestly, you'd think you would have grown up by now," Keiko sighed, and Botan replied with a childish giggle. "It's like you never left Sarayashiki."

Megumi couldn't help but instantly forgive Kuwabara for her teasing as the brunette knew she would welcome the support.

"I'm handling it better than I thought." Megumi shrugged with a small smile.

"The best advice is to just avoid him!" Keiko huffed. "Trust me; cutting off all contact is the best thing to do."

"You did that for three years and literally the day Yusuke came back, you rushed into his arms," Shizuru commented as she picked up a Styrofoam bowl from the bag.

Keiko's eye twitched and she sent an irritated glance over her shoulder to Shizuru, who was now handing Megumi the bowl.

She took it with a playful, puckered smile as she watched Keiko's rebuttal. "Well… There needs to be people who don't turn back on their word!" She turned to Megumi and chided her with a pointed finger. "Out of sight, out of mind! It'll be hard at first, but it will be worth it."

Megumi laughed with Botan and Yukina.

"How long have you two been dating?" Megumi asked as everyone grabbed a bowl.

"On and off." Keiko shrugged. "Officially… about nine months, but I've known him since I was a child. Unfortunately."

"Year and a half," Megumi replied with a small laugh. "Met him when I first moved up here about three years ago."

"Aren't you from Tokyo?" Shizuru asked, twisting her noodles around her chopsticks.

"What would make you want to leave the city?" Yukina asked, breaking hers apart. "Kazuma went with me once and it was just bustling with life. There were just so many things to do there."

"I wanted to live with my grandmother because we were really close and she was close to passing away," Megumi replied as Botan handed her a pair. "She left me her house in her will so I could live here, otherwise I would have left back to Tokyo."

Now eased into the groove of the conversation, Megumi was enjoying the company and was truly glad she decided to come. Not only were the conversations easy, but not one ghoul or monster was creeping around the corner. The woman didn't appear once.

The girls were talking and enjoying themselves, getting to know each other and creating simple banter that was usually directed at Megumi—who actually enjoyed being the center of attention. Attention that wasn't malicious, vengeful.

Because the girls treated her like one of their own—like they were never _not_ friends. They were so welcoming and inviting and playful. It was nice to talk to them, to have friends again.

The camping trip ruined her social life, slowly but surely. She and Michiru weren't that close anymore, which included her seeing less of Kenji. And now that Yamato broke up with her…

An hour, some wine, liquor, and five Styrofoam bowls in the trash later, the group gathered on the couch as a cheesy action movie played on the big screen in front of them. Megumi curled between Botan and Shizuru at the foot of the couch with the bottle of Brandy in hand. Keiko and Yukina sat behind them on the couch, laughing at the corny lines and guarding the bowl of chips and other salty snacks from Megumi and Botan.

"Keiko. Keiko," Megumi called through her laughter, reaching a hand out above her head behind her.

Keiko grasped it in laughter. "Yeah?"

"I loved that ramen, it's so delicious—where'd you get it?"

"My parents shop."

"It was so delicious… but I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat it again."

"Why? Why can't you eat it again...?" Keiko asked, leaning over Shizuru's head. "Ah! Yamato dumping you isn't the end of the world, Megumi!" Again, she pointed the chiding finger. "We're better off without men anyway! I long for the day we don't need them to reproduce."

"Amen," Shizuru snorted, holding up her drink, and Megumi quickly slammed her glass into Shizuru's in agreement.

Botan climbed onto Megumi, clinking her glass in. "A- _wo_ men."

Megumi laughed loudly, and Shizuru heaved a sigh at the horrible joke. The girls' screaming laughter had been going on for a good forty-five minutes now, and Kazuma was bound to trudge down the stairs to complain any minute now, but Shizuru would deal with that when the time came.

Right now, Megumi was feeling better, and she liked to see her friends happy.

"But… that's not why," Megumi laughed, rubbing her burning nose.

"Oh? Then what's wrong with it?"

"I'm going to get another view of it tomorrow morning when I have my face shoved in the porcelain throne."

Botan and Keiko squealed, with the former kicking her feet in the air like a child and forgetting that she had a thick glass of her own liquid to worry about spilling. Wine splashed on Megumi's black leggings but she didn't mind—the stain couldn't be seen.

"I'm so sorry!" Botan gasped, still unable to stop laughing.

"I wear black all the time," Megumi reassured her and placed a consoling hand on Botan's arm. "Mainly to match my soul but also to make sure I don't have to buy new clothes when this happens."

As Botan laughed, Megumi paused and looked over her shoulder to Keiko.

"Yukina." Megumi glanced over her shoulder. "You hold your wine better than me and I'm so much older than you… right…?" She paused and looked at the girl in confusion. Sometimes people looked much younger than they were and she didn't want to offend the girl if she was older. "I'm older than you, right?"

The girls burst into snickers. Yukina spoke through hers. "Yes, of course, Megumi! You're definitely older than I am."

Megumi nodded, leaning against Botan as the blue-haired woman covered her face with her free hand, still laughing. Megumi didn't know why that was so funny to everyone. Were they really that drunk…? Or was that some sort of inside joke…?

Megumi pushed it aside, just glad she was fitting in with the girls. She was having a good time for the first time since that night. No night terrors, no being stalking, harassing, scaring, or taunting her. The woman didn't appear.

She poured the liquid down her throat again, numb to the usual sharpness.

She felt warm and safe with them. There was like a blanket of security wrapped around her, protecting her from the threats that plagued her daily life. She felt it most next to her person and she leaned her head on Botan's shoulder with a smile as they continued making fun of the corny special effects and lines.

"This is something stupid that Yusuke would totally be into," Keiko sighed as the main man uttered some try-hard, over-used line that was so cliché the nineteen-eighties called and asked for their lingo back.

"Is your boyfriend a meat head?" Megumi snorted. "He sounds like a meat head."

"Only the biggest one in all three realms," Keiko replied.

Megumi snorted at the strange reply, figuring the reference to heaven and hell, and yawned. "I'm going to use that from now on. That's clever."

Botan smiled and leaned her head atop Megumi's. "You can't be tuckered out; it's not even midnight yet!"

"I'm not sleepy," Megumi replied with a smile, downing the rest of her brandy. "My head's just really heavy and I can't feel my legs."

"Seriously, I can't understand the appeal of this plot," Keiko sighed. "It's just an explosion and barrage of bullets every five minutes."

"Yusuke piss you off before you got here, I take it?" Shizuru asked. "You've been griping all night."

"Ah, let her gripe!" Megumi waved it off with a big smile. "If it's one thing I can get behind, it's complaining about useless boyfriends."

"Like, honestly!" Keiko continued. "I told him he could work for my parent's diner but does he listen? No!" She slammed a handful of chips in her mouth. "It's not a handout, Yusuke! It's a great business plan. Once my parents hand me the shop, it can be in both our names—"

"Every word out of your mouth about him is a complaint, but you still talk about marrying him," Shizuru noted.

Keiko's face flushed a bright red. "That's if he can get his financials straight—I can't deal with him _and_ ignorant business choices."

"All they're good for is complaining about," Megumi sighed. "Yamato never once did laundry. A grown man! Couldn't clean or cook to save his life! A grown man!" she groaned, earning a cackle from Botan and Keiko—who must have known the feeling all too well. "I'm not your mom, Yamato! Do the fucking dishes; they're yours! Take out trash—and separate the recycling for once! We have separate trash cans for a reason."

"So, Keiko," Shizuru continued. "Are you really thinking about it? Marrying him?"

Keiko gave Shizuru a long stare before sighing. "I... I don't know. If he gets his act together, then it would make me feel more secure."

"You know he's got a good heart, Keiko," Shizuru reminded her, to which Keiko nodded.

"A good heart doesn't keep a roof over your head and food on the table." Megumi sloppily shoved a pointed finger at Keiko. "Put your foot down! If he really loves you, he'll straighten up his financials."

"He's got the most horrible way of showing love, Megumi," Keiko groaned. "He thinks sneaking his ramen into the movie theater and not getting caught by the ushers is exciting! That's a big date night."

"Out of all the things _he_ could find exciting..." Shizuru laughed.

As Megumi and Keiko continued ranting and bemoaning their love lives, they couldn't help but laugh along the way. But through the laughter and venting, Megumi relished the night, thankful to be around the girls. She didn't want the night to end.

* * *

Megumi awoke on the floor, head gently rested in the nook of Botan's arm and torso. She and Botan were curled under the kotatsu's warmth from the waist down. She groaned as she tried lifting her head up.

"You up, too?" Shizuru's quiet grunt could be heard from the couch.

With heavy, burning eyes, Megumi looked up to find her coworker's head on the armrest with one arm over her eyes. Megumi tried blinking away the pain, but her contacts were already upset at her.

"Yeah… no headache yet…" Megumi responded quietly, reaching for her purse for her eye drops. "But the minute I step outside into the devil's sun, it'll spike…"

Yukina and Keiko had fallen asleep on the love-seat, the two still in a peaceful slumber.

"Do you know what time it is?" Megumi asked, and Shizuru lifted her arm to glance at the watch on her wrist.

"Almost noon."

"Ah…" Megumi sighed. "I should probably get home and check on Tobio…"

"Dog?"

Megumi shook her head. "Cat. He gets cranky and bitter when you leave him alone for too long."

Shizuru let her arm fall and her hand clasped Megumi's shoulder. Giving it a tight squeeze, Shizuru gave a soft grin.

"Had a good night, huh?"

Megumi grinned. "Yeah. It was really nice… took my mind off _so_ many things. Thanks so much for inviting me."

"I know the girls all like you, so you should hang out again sometime. We always spend time together when we find openings in our schedules."

"Yeah, definitely!" Megumi smiled excitedly.

"Before you leave, there's a little note of paper on the table over there. Has our numbers in case you ever want to reach us or just talk, you know?"

Megumi glanced to the kotatsu and picked the little paper off the wood with a smile. Her eyes began to sting—and this time it wasn't from the contacts. She blinked away the tears quickly.

They were all so nice to be around… She really needed people like them to be with her. Especially nowadays.

"Thank you for inviting me, really." Megumi found herself holding the numbers to her chest. "I really appreciate it."

"You're fun to be around," Shizuru said simply. "Everyone here likes you, Ijiri."

"You can call me Megumi..." Megumi blinked away a few more tears before turning around to smile to Shizuru. "Because I like you all too!"

* * *

Just as Megumi predicted, the moment she stepped out of the Kuwabara household and into the early afternoon sun her headache spiked. And _boy_ , did it spike…

She squinted and groaned her entire way home, ready to crawl into her bed with Tobio and sleep off the hangover. She sighed with relief when she stepped inside her house. Taking off her heels, she locked the door behind her and called out for her cat.

The black ball of fluff trotted down the wood stairs and across the matching floor to his owner with little patters from his short, stubby legs filling the air.

"You're not mad at me for staying out so long?" she cooed tiredly, reaching for him.

He stopped a few feet away and grumbled, his tail gently thumping against the floor.

"Oh, come on," she groaned. "I finally made some friends! Be happy for me, Tobio."

He grumbled again and turned away from her, walking towards the kitchen.

"I left you food, Tobio," she mumbled, following the cat to his bowl to find he'd eaten it. "…Fine."

When she opened the pantry, the dry food spilled onto the floor with the opening door. She glared down at the fat ball of fluff that was now rubbing himself against her leg, purring loudly.

"I'm still thinking about getting you neutered, you know…" she mumbled, to which he rubbed against her leg harder in reply. She begrudgingly cleaned up the mess, put out more food for him, and headed to the stairs.

But of course, he didn't want the food he whined for. He followed her to the stairs and she looked down at him again. He was spiking her headache, and he knew he was.

"I'm closing the door when I get up there, and I'm not getting back up, got it?"

The Persian munchkin replied with a small meow and she scooped him up. She traveled back up the stairs and passed by the guest room, the bathroom, and then finally reached her room. She groaned as she remembered she left the curtains open and squinted in pain at the bright light shining in her room.

Setting Tobio on the bed, she closed the curtains and rubbed her temples, hoping for the headache to go away, begging it mentally. At least she didn't feel like vomiting yet. She would shower later; she didn't want to stand up anymore.

Just change clothes and crawl into bed, she thought to herself as she picked up a few pieces of clothing off her wood floor. Standing next to her nightstand, she saw the little red flash of the answering machine.

She pressed the play button as she began taking off her black leggings.

The automated voice machine played. _One message at seven thirty-three A.M._

Just as Megumi began to pull on her fleece pajama pants, she paused at the gut-wrenching sobs that cried out from the machine. Stunned, she paused and stared at the black device on the chestnut wood in horror, immediately placing the voice.

"Megumi!" Michiru's voice cried over the machine, almost incoherent. "Megumi… Megumi, please call me. Megumi, oh god… Something bad happened. Megu, please call and tell me you're alright…"

Her mind reeled instantly, remembering that none of the ghouls or monsters were there to haunt her last night… The woman didn't appear to her last night…

She lunged for the phone and called Michiru, but the rings went to voice mail. Megumi quickly changed into a hoodie and jeans and grabbed sunglasses to keep the sun's rays from frying her eyes and brain any further. She took a couple of aspirins and left her house.

She showed up at Michiru's apartment complex, finding it empty. She feared the worst—Michiru was dead inside. Michiru was dead and it was her fault—if she hadn't been out then this never would have happened. When she knocked on the neighbor's door, they informed her that an ambulance took off a while ago.

She must have been calling from the local hospital. Thanking the neighbor, she hurried across town again. At the information desk, Michiru's name wasn't registered.

"Then… maybe it's Kenji," she offered before telling them his last name. She was directed to a room on the fifth floor, in the ICU. Sprinting down the hall, she found Michiru outside a room with two police officers.

The petite brunette was crying against the wall, holding herself.

"Michiru," Megumi called her name quietly, drawing everyone's attention.

"Ma'am, who are—" Michiru immediately cut off the taller officer.

"Megumi!" Michiru wailed and ran to her friend.

Megumi embraced the girl, feeling her chest heaving dramatically, tiredly, as she continued to cry.

"What happened?" Megumi asked, looking to the officers. "What's wrong?"

"Kenji…" Michiru sniffed, holding Megumi tighter. "Kenji… he fell from the balcony last night."

A wave of coldness, comparable to that of ice, swept over Megumi's body and her knees went limp. The two girls fell to the ground, Michiru too distraught to even try to keep them standing.

"The doctor said his one of his arms and a leg took a lot of the blow, but he still hit his head," one of the officers said, only to be cut off by Michiru.

"He won't wake up!" she sobbed. "His head was cracked wide open—he won't wake up!"

"He's in a coma?!" Megumi looked to the police officers, who both averted their eyes.

 _She_ did it. They did it. The woman called her underlings to… No… No, no.

"The doctor said he may not make it," Michiru continued. "He has—"

The room opened and a small group of nurses and two doctors came out, hastily wheeling a bed with them—with Kenji on it.

"Where are they taking him?!" Megumi turned around as if to follow them, but her legs wouldn't work.

"He has a brain hemorrhage!" Michiru said. "He has to go to surgery. Even then, he may not live…"

Megumi's breath began to match the hitch of Michiru's, and the cops tried to console the two girls. Michiru demanded for them to take their statements since she was convinced there was _no_ way Kenji would try to kill himself. He had too much to live for: school, career, _her._

She argued it wasn't an attempted suicide, and out of courtesy and to keep the brunette from sobbing any longer, the police complied and took down any information she gave them.

But still, as there was nobody who wanted to hurt Kenji and no motive, it was going to be ruled an attempted suicide.

Megumi stayed with Michiru in the waiting room, both of them wringing their wrists raw and taking deep breaths to keep from having another breakdown.

"You think it was the… spirits… don't you?" Megumi whispered a while into the surgery.

Michiru shook her head, eyes hitting the ground. "Don't start with that shit again, Megumi."

"If something happened last night—"

"I woke up and saw the sliding door open," Michiru asserted, glaring at her friend. "Ghosts didn't open it."

Megumi looked to her friend desperately. "That's why you called me, to make sure I was alright too…"

The brunette stared into her friend's eyes before lowering them to the floor again. "I called Yamato, too… He's okay. He's at his parents right now."

The rest of the sentence was left unsaid: he was down in Osaka. He wouldn't make it here tonight.

There was no point in pushing her any longer. Even if the ghouls and woman decided to show themselves to Michiru, even if Michiru saw something, she'd deny it. Just like they all denied everything strange since that night.

Megumi nodded slowly, silently thanking Michiru for making that phone call, and they sat in silence. The surgeon came out a while later, and the two girls prepared for the worst.

"He'll survive," the aging man said, and the two girls collapsed in relief, breath leaving their bodies in a heaving sigh. "For now. It's still possible for clotting—especially since his left arm and right leg are crushed, swelling of the brain…"

He listed off a little list, taking away their relief—faster than it came to them. But they had to look on the bright side—what little of it there was—Kenji was still alive.

"Will he wake up?" Michiru pressed.

"He may," he replied with a nod. "But we're unsure about when. It can be anywhere from a few days to months…" The doctor trailed off, leaving the unspoken words "If he survives for that long" lingering in the air around them.

The two waited for them to move Kenji from the post-operating room, but the recovery nurses informed them hours into the night that he would be kept until morning for observation.

Michiru encouraged her friend to go home and rest, and that she would call her tomorrow to update her. Megumi, though, was still looking at the ground from her seat.

"Megu?" Michiru tried again, but when there was no response, she grabbed her friend's arm and shook it gently. "Megu?"

She jumped in surprise and looked around, confused. Finally, her eyes landed on Michiru, and she remembered where she was.

"Yeah?"

"You can go on home, okay?" Michiru said again. "Get some rest. I'll call you tomorrow to update you."

"Are you sure?" Megumi asked. "I don't want to leave you by yourself."

Michiru smiled. "I won't be alone. Kenji's still here."

With a small, unsure frown, Megumi replied. "Get some sleep, okay?"

With a long, tight hug between the two, Megumi set off for home. Unfortunately, the time it took to get there was long enough for her to actually ferment in guilt. It was her fault they went after Kenji, it had to be… She drove off the ghouls for the night and the woman tormented Kenji in her place.

If only she hadn't gone to the little gathering… he would still be alive.

Megumi kept herself composed until she was able to get to her house. The moment she stepped through the door, the dam broke again, and she bitterly wondered how much longer she could cry before her tear ducts were all dried up.

The home was quiet, empty, and dark. It wasn't until she made it to the stairs that she felt a familiar, unwanted presence. She gritted her teeth and ignored it, silently hoping they'd finish her off—follow through with what they tried to do to Kenji.

She passed by the guest room and paused. Fear bubbled in her stomach, and she reached for the door knob to close the door, not looking into the room. With the creak of the hinges came a thick, black mass from the room.

She screamed and jumped away, slipping on the wood floor and falling back.

Darkness. Black—she couldn't see—she couldn't feel anything. Was that it?

Had she died?

A soft purr came from her right, and her vision met eggshell white—the ceiling. She glanced over to Tobio, who had perched himself next to her, and then frantically back to the door.

Adrenaline still roaring through her, she gave a shaky sigh and picked up the cat before getting back on her feet. She quickly closed the door, then the bathroom's door, and then, when she reached her room, her door.

Paranoia took over her again, and she looked to the closet—it doubled as a full-length mirror. She quickly closed it and shed her clothes before hiding under the covers of her queen sized bed. The tubby cat curled up next to her, purring softly in hopes of comforting her, but all she could do now was shake in fear.

She was positive she was being watched. Not sure from where—by whom—but it was true. There was something lurking around every corner, waiting.

Would she be next? Michiru? Yamato?

When would it happen? They were dragging this out—toying with them, making them suffer. It was only fair payback, after all. She'd asked to be left alone; they disrespected her wishes.

Soon, she was able to drift into a light sleep. Every creak in the house, every shift in the wind, had her awake and checking over her shoulder, but sleep was ready and more than willing to claim her again when she deemed the noise wasn't a threat.

Once, Tobio began hissing, became defensive, and Megumi picked her head up from the pillows to look at the clock on her nightstand. A little after one in the morning…

She looked to Tobio, whose ears were bent back and fangs were bared. Paranoia returned quickly, adrenaline coursed through her again, and her eyes betrayed her. They landed on the mirrors that covered her closet doors. In it was—dimly in the night—her reflection, Tobio's, and behind her, leaning against the wall, was the woman's.

Had her shirt not been bloody and torn, showing the black lace lingerie underneath, the woman would almost have blended in to the white walls. She stood behind the bed, scowling, arms hanging leisurely at her sides.

Megumi stared at her in the mirror, sobs caught in her throat. She forgot how to breathe; all she could think—expect—was that she would be driven to kill herself too, just like Kenji. Would this be the night?

The woman pushed herself off the wall and Megumi tried choking back a sob that escaped her throat in fear.

Tobio inched away from her, but Megumi grabbed him tightly, pulled him under the covers with her.

The woman stepped closer, reaching the edge of the bed behind Megumi, and began reaching out a hand… and disappeared.

Shaking furiously, Megumi held an angry, hissing Tobio to her chest. In seconds, with her presence disappearing, Tobio began calming down. She pulled the duvet cover above her head and hid underneath them.

"What do I do, Tobio?" she cried, hiding her face in his fur, dampening it with her tears.

She didn't have the courage to come out from underneath the covers despite knowing they wouldn't do much to protect her. It was just the only place in her own home where her tormentors had yet to plague her.


	3. III

**III. I NEED YOU.**

* * *

Megumi had always liked make-up, but her skin was very sensitive to the brands she used. The only ones that didn't make her skin break-out and flaky were few and far between, and _very_ expensive.

After all her bills were paid, she managed to afford the concealer and cover-up, but if she wanted any of the other luxuries, she had to save up. She had quite a few, too—liner, shadow, lipstick—but she rarely used them unless it was for an important event.

Like meeting Yamato's parents… or attending Kenji's and Michiru's engagement party that Kenji had been planning—which wasn't likely to happen anymore.

She couldn't manage to wear her basics today for work, and she couldn't stand to close her eyes in the shower while washing her hair, so that didn't happen. She looked especially worn-down. She couldn't be bothered to care, though.

What was the point of spending time on something so frivolous when she was likely to die today? At any time, really. Who knew when they'd finally end the harassment? Or how long they'd drag it on to where she had to finish herself off for them…

"Can I leave?" A young woman with touched-up highlights in her dark brown hair asked.

She slouched forward on the bench in boredom, waiting to pull out her fingers from under the UV light. She sat across the salon from Megumi, who sat at her station, filing down her other customer's nails pensively.

She'd managed to lose one of her contacts sometime between last night and this morning—her last pair. And she wouldn't wear her glasses if she could help it—she didn't like the way they looked on her.

She focused all her mental energy on filing the nails, silently dreading that the customer would want a manicure that needed a fine, thin design. She hoped the customer wouldn't. She really hoped the customer wouldn't.

Oops. That side's a little uneven now. Ugh. She can fix that, it's not too bad… Just don't want a thin-tipped design, please. Don't make her squint and strain her eyes for some super thin and detailed design. Maybe she should have worn her glasses after all… No, not in public… She'd just have to find some reading glasses left around in the salon if worse came to worst.

Everything Megumi's current customer was saying was going in one ear and out the other as she rounded the ring finger's nail.

"Excuse me, Ijiri… Can I leave now?" The woman across the salon tried again.

Shizuru paused in the midst of wrapping a thick strand of her client's hair in aluminum foil and glanced to her coworker.

"Megumi," Shizuru called quietly to the girl, who blinked and looked up from her customers hands.

Megumi's eyes widened in surprised. "Huh?"

Shizuru nodded to the previous customer and Megumi's brown eyes landed on the young woman.

A little miffed, the woman repeated herself. "Can I leave now?"

"Oh. Uh…" She glanced to the little clock on her table and then smiled to the woman. "Five more minutes. You chose a dark color."

Shizuru's gaze lingered on her coworker as she returned to filing her customer's nails. Her brows furrowed, and then she turned back to wrapping the aluminum foil around her customer's hair.

Megumi was so tense and pensive—so deep in thought and yet paranoid at the same time. Not everything pointed to her break up anymore, instead it bordered on paranoia.

Shizuru could tell _everything_ was getting to her coworker now.

Their customers left satisfied a while later. Megumi stared at the bubblegum pink nail polish in front of her. Normally she tucked her tips away before reorganizing the colors, choosing whatever pattern she felt she wanted that day. But today, instead, her gracious, personal paper tip was hanging loosely between her fingers as if it didn't matter and her nail polish collection went untouched.

"Megumi," Shizuru said, sitting across from her.

Startled, Megumi looked up from the table to find Shizuru bearing a noticeably concerned expression.

Megumi forced another smile. "Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

Megumi paused. She didn't want to lie to Shizuru but she didn't want to burden her either.

"Just tell me." Shizuru's voice was soft but demanding.

"My friend… he, uh," she paused, forcing out the words. "I guess… he tried to kill himself the other night."

In Megumi's gut, she knew he didn't try to kill himself. Well, he may have, but not of his own will, not because he really _wanted_ to… only to get away from the mess. And if he survived, it wasn't like he would admit _that's_ why he tried.

Shizuru's expression softened slightly, but hardened just seconds later. Before she could speak, the door to the salon opened and the two young women heard the little jingle from the bell under the pop music. Megumi jumped slightly in her seat at the sudden noise.

"Hello, my lovely girls!" Botan waltzed through the door.

Megumi's heart skipped a beat, happy to see her new friend and not the woman that plagued her life. Botan carried a few little paper bags and all but skipped to Megumi's station.

"Brought some pastries from the café down the street!" Botan chirped and set a bag in front of Megumi. "I hope you like chocolate."

"My favorite, actually." Megumi happily took the white bag. "Thank you, Botan!"

"Ah, Shizuru." Botan turned to the brunette. "Can you take me to see that new shampoo you said you guys got?"

Luckily for Shizuru, Megumi was busy opening the bag to see what pastry Botan bought her and didn't hear the reaper. They'd been using the same brand shampoo for the past three months, even the manicurists knew that.

"Yeah. We'll be right back, Megumi." Shizuru stood from her chair.

"Huh? Oh, okay."

The two walked to the back of the salon near the shampoo chairs and rounded the short corner to hide behind it. Botan leaned against the wall.

"It's just like you said, something's _definitely_ following her," Botan whispered. She handed Shizuru one of the little white bags. Shizuru took it and Botan opened her own, pulling out an obnoxiously large sugar cookie with blue icing. "One of the guides said they met a young man named Kenji, who was having a near-death experience."

"So what's wrong?"

Botan shrugged. "He was positively traumatized. She tried getting info out of him but he actually repressed the incident. He just kept saying Megumi's name, and 'Michiru' too. He didn't know why he was on the ground—he just couldn't remember anything for the life of him."

Botan waited expectantly for Shizuru to react to the tastefully offensive pun, but Shizuru repressed her response to ensure Botan wouldn't be encouraged to keep the joke going.

"He repressed it that fast?" Shizuru cocked an eyebrow.

Botan pouted. "It's not uncommon for some spirits to forget how they died. Then there are others who never forget and refuse sentencing." She took a bite of the cookie and caught one large crumb that had almost fallen to the ground. "And so long as they're not physically harming anyone, we can't do anything about it. Earth-bound spirits can stay here if they don't bother anyone."

"So someone's not just haunting her, but all of her friends too?" Shizuru asked.

"Probably. I think being haunted is only part of it because I definitely feel youki around her too." Botan glanced around the corner to see Megumi. The girl was staring half-heartedly at her muffin. "And she's not a youkai, I checked her file. She's not descended from any either."

"Stalked by youkai," Shizuru said. "And haunted by someone hateful."

Botan nodded and took a comically large bite from the cookie, leaving about half of it left. "And like, harassment isn't a big crime for youkai. I mean, we can always throw them back to Makai and ban them from ever returning. But even you've noticed there's a new signature to each youki each time. A lot of youkai are stalking her. Dozens of them, with the amount of ki lingering from her all the time."

"What should we do?" Shizuru crossed her arms over her chest. "I knew I could keep the youkai at bay by being around her, but if this ghost is as evil as we think…"

"You think we should tell her we know?"

Shizuru's frowned in thought. "I don't think we need to just yet."

Botan cocked her head to the side in curiosity as she took another large bite, leaving a mini bite-sized crumb left. She kept it pinched between her fingers. "Then what do you propose?"

Shizuru took a deep breath, weighing the options. "Let's keep watching over her, be around her more often. Maybe we'll witness something and she'll tell us."

Botan frowned as she chewed. "Are you sure we shouldn't just tell her? I feel like we should let her know she's not alone."

"You want to tell her all about Reikai and Makai?" Shizuru's brow rose. "Because that's what it's going to lead to."

"Well, you know I can't unless it's absolutely necessary…" Botan pouted. "The barrier may be down but I'm still obligated to be silent."

"I'll drop hints and see if she notices anything. If things get any worse, I'll tell her."

Botan nodded and turned on her heels, giving Shizuru a wink over her shoulder before heading around the corner. "I'll drop by a few more times." Botan walked with a bounce in her step, passing by Megumi's station. "See you again sometime, Megumi!"

Megumi glanced up to Botan, sadness washing over her quickly. "You're leaving already?"

"When the job calls, I have to answer." Botan smiled and waved, heading out the salon.

Megumi watched through the bay window as Botan left her view.

"Where does Botan work?" Megumi asked as Shizuru sat back down in the customer seat across from her.

"She's a… delivery girl." Shizuru wiped the knowing smile off her face before Megumi could notice it.

"Oh." Megumi turned to see Shizuru's little white bag. "What did you get?"

"Not sure," she grunted and opened the bag, finding a large brownie. She pinched it between her index finger and thumb and pulled it out to show Megumi. "It's almost as big as my head."

Megumi laughed. "I have two muffins to make up for their size, I guess."

"Sorry about your friend," Shizuru said, breaking a corner off her treat.

"Oh… thanks." Megumi's mood dipped low immediately. "None of us saw it coming."

"You know, you can always call any of us if you want to talk," Shizuru said. "That's why I gave you our numbers."

Megumi's lips spread into a small smile and she sniffed before looking up at Shizuru. "I don't want to drag you into my messy life. I'm sure you don't want to hear me babble on about my problems."

"You don't have to talk," Shizuru said simply. "Just being on the phone with someone in silence helps sometimes."

A small bubble of warmth burst in Megumi's chest, she was lucky to have such a nice coworker—a nice friend. But she knew she couldn't drag her into her problems. Shizuru may think she was crazy if she told her the creepy story that was now her life.

"I may take you up on that offer." Megumi pinched part of the muffin's top and broke away a piece.

The chocolate was sweet, savory, and the muffin's texture hit her taste buds in just the right way. She relished the time she spent with her friend because she knew when she stepped out the salon she would return to the ghouls that plagued her.

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

Megumi latched onto Michiru's arm as they followed their boys in the cave. They watched Kenji ahead of them, leading them deeper into what could only be a dark hell. That's certainly what it felt like, at least. The heaviness in the air, the feeling of being watched, the animosity radiating from every nook and cranny...

"Shouldn't we leave a trail or something so we know how to get back?" Megumi asked.

"Nah, we're just walking straight," Kenji replied.

"We just turned a corner five minutes ago…" Michiru mumbled.

"Yamato, come on," Megumi pleaded again for what may have been the fifteenth time since she caught up to them. "I don't like this place. We're not welcome here. Give me the keys so I can go—I'll pick you up in the morning, okay?"

He didn't reply and Kenji turned around. "Eh? Where'd Yamato go?"

"You're right…" A low voice rumbled from behind the girls, both of them stiffening in fright. "Disgraceful mortals aren't welcome here."

"Y-y-y-y-y-y- _Yamato_!" Megumi finally managed to work her chattering mouth. "Stop fucking around!"

"Yamato?" The voice laughed. "The boy I just found a few yards away? He sure tasted good."

Michiru couldn't find the courage to look behind her and Kenji flashed the light on the girls to see who was behind him. He froze in shock, mouth agape.

"Not funny!" Megumi screamed. She managed to move away from Michiru, who was also was inching away from Megumi in hopes of both of them being able to sprint off. "This isn't fucking funny!"

"You're right again, mortal girl…" Wet, grassy hands latched on Megumi's and Michiru's shoulders and squeezed. "Your presence in our home isn't funny at all. It's a disturbance."

The two girls screamed bloody murder and Megumi yanked herself away from the monster, sprinting into the darkness with Michiru.

Kenji shined the flashlight down the pathway just seconds later and couldn't see the girls. He could only hear their echoing screams. He turned back around and faced Yamato with a childish snicker.

"I knew voice acting was a hobby of yours but _damn._ You're really good, dude. You had me going for a second."

Yamato threw the weird, dewy plants he picked up near the walls of the cave on the floor and shrugged, chuckling. "Megumi is going to fucking _kill_ me."

"Yeah, you better save up for a bigger engagement ring," Kenji laughed and turned around to follow the girls. "The diamond will have to be the size of her tits or something to make her forgive you."

Yamato trailed a few steps behind his friend. "Just because you're planning on proposing to Michiru doesn't mean I'm ready for the ball and chain too, Kenji."

"That's a fucked up way to look at marriage, you know?"

* * *

 **THE KUWABARA HOUSEHOLD**

It'd been bothering him for about two days now—Shizuru's friend's aura. He faced a lot of things over the years. Hell, he went to Makai twice and went to the Dark Tournament where an entire island was just _crawling_ with youkai.

But he hadn't felt something like _that_ in years. Not since he was a young child. He'd only experienced the nasty tingle once with a creepy ghost in an abandoned house he and his friends were exploring. The only way to describe that experience was "the heebie-jeebies."

That girl was off and it'd been gnawing at him to find out what was wrong.

He stopped at the last step of the stairs, looking at the back of his sister's head as she watched another mindless sitcom. He wanted to ask her, but since she didn't bring it up to him, he had a feeling she had a reason to keep it from him.

But her coworker was just… something was so far from right with her it was _left,_ okay?

"You want to explain to me why you're staring daggers into the back of my head, little bro?" Shizuru droned, not even bothering to look over her shoulder from her comfortable position on the couch.

He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned on the wall. "It's just been gnawing at me ever since she came over—"

"Megumi?" Shizuru's interest piqued and she finally turned around.

"Your coworker, yeah." He nodded. "You… you do know something's off about her, right?"

Disappointed, almost as if she was wondering why she'd expect anything different from her little brother, she looked back to the TV. "Why do you think I'm spending time around her?"

"Well, that's kind of what I was wondering," he replied.

"We think an evil spirit's and some youkai are haunting her," she said, dragging her fingers through her hair and raking it up into a messy pony-tail. "They don't bother her when I'm around."

"You don't have to do that, you know," he said. "Urameshi's got that independent detective business on the side of his ramen stand. He'd give you a discount."

"I'm not going to pay him," she scoffed.

"What a cheapskate…" Kazuma mumbled, earning a warning glare from his sister that sent shivers down his spine. He laughed quickly. "You sure you should be dealing with that stuff, though? It can get dangerous."

"It's just some earth bound spirit ordering around low-level youkai. They're weaker than the ones crawling around that tournament. I'm fine," she replied, reminding Kazuma she'd handled brutes three times her size with three times the power of the ones lurking around her coworker. "Besides, I don't want to bother Yusuke about it because Megumi already feels like she's going crazy. Too much info on the other realms at once may make her snap."

"Well, how'd you get her to tell you?"

"She didn't. I just noticed the change over time."

"So… she doesn't know you know?" Kazuma raised an eyebrow.

"Nope."

"Why not tell her? She's probably feeling alone."

"I will eventually. I'm waiting for the right time. Telling her about the youkai will bring up a big mess of an explanation about Makai."

"Okay…" He understood that.

Despite the barrier between the two dimensions being down, the only youkai that were really making themselves known in Ningenkai were ones who passed as human. It was rare for youkai to out themselves, and when they did—they passed as human, so nobody took them seriously. It was usually taken as some kind of performance art or trend.

"When's the right time?" he asked as the home phone began ringing.

The silence between them was palpable and Kazuma was waiting for a genuine answer from his sister. Shizuru only shrugged and pushed herself off the couch.

* * *

 **THE IJIRI HOUSEHOLD**

Tobio rubbed himself against Megumi's leg; his tail swished around and wrapped itself along her calf. She stood at the kitchen counter cutting meat as water came to a boil on the stove. She was making chicken ramen but wished she could have some of Keiko's. She should have asked where the girl lived so she could pick a bowl up on the way home from work.

Tobio meowed loudly and sat on his haunches next to her. She glanced down to her cat, letting some loose curls pinned to her head in a clip come fall around her face.

"You want some chicken?" she asked in a pitched voice, the one a mother would use on her infant.

He replied loudly and Megumi stuck her tongue out at him.

"Wait until I sauté it, at least. You know I don't like giving you raw meat, dummy." A low rumble from his throat carried through the air to Megumi. "Remember the time I gave you raw pork? You coughed it up on the couch."

He grumbled and began pacing around her again, purring loudly. She dumped the chopped chicken from her cutting board into the pan on the stove. The sizzling and hissing that occurred as the aroma of her spices and sauces wafted up to her nose made her smile. She hummed a popular song's tune from the radio softly, pushing the meat, garnish, and juices around in the pan with a wooden spoon.

There was a sudden chill in the air, prickling every pore of her exposed skin and forcing her hairs on end. She glanced around the kitchen, finding it empty, and then looked down to Tobio, who was looking up at one of the cupboards with dilated pupils.

Megumi's eyes followed her cat's, but found nothing there.

Nothing there. Nothing's there! Nothing's there… A window's probably open and a fly came in with the breeze… Yeah. Yup. Totally it...

"...Just a draft, yeah? I'll turn on the heater later," she laughed quietly to herself, only to let out a sharp scream as she heard the cupboard door slam open.

She turned around swiftly. The same cupboard door now wide open.

Grotesque, horrifying bugs of various colors scurried out and traveled around the woodwork. Gigantic centipedes, monstrous spiders, eight-legged... flies. And yet they still looked their own—like they weren't from this world.

God knows they weren't.

Tobio hissed and bared his fangs at the bugs, but Megumi's eyes glued to the imps and ghouls that appeared next. They'd made their entrance by slamming all the other cupboards open. They started pushing glass cups and coffee mugs off the shelves. Doors slammed open and closed repeatedly and the monsters threw dishes and glass to the linoleum tile floor.

Green, purple, black—the monsters were small but mischievous. Horned and fanged, some winged, with large eyes and even larger, devious, sharp-toothed smiles. Clawed hands, dangerous enough to rip clean through her skin.

One imp in particular, the green one she held a personal distaste for, picked up a glass and chucked it at her. She luckily ducked in time to avoid it crashing into her face and let the wall behind her take the blow. She ran to the hallway with Tobio following behind her.

She glanced to an answering machine, finding no new messages; she almost hoped Michiru or Yamato would have called. Maybe they knew something was happening.

Maybe something was happening to them right now too.

Crashes continued sounding from the kitchen and she ran in time to avoid a flying plate smashing at her feet. She ran up the stairs, stumbling slightly and slipping on a step, but used the moment to pick up Tobio at her side and hurry to her room.

It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go—no matter where she went, they haunted her, harassed her. She could leave the house—so everyone could see her running in fear from nothing like a freak.

She closed her bedroom door behind her and looked around her room to make sure she was safe. For now… she was.

She hurried to the other answering machine in the house, next to her land line.

Megumi instantly called Michiru but she didn't pick up. Megumi wasn't too worried, as she and Michiru agreed to call each other every morning and night. If neither picked up, they would leave a message. If they didn't call back by the next scheduled phone call, they would go check up on each other.

"Hey…" Megumi spoke quickly, quietly, into the receiver. She hoped Michiru wouldn't hear the ongoing chaos in the background: the clatter and racket from the kitchen still happening. "Just checking up on you! Call me back when you get a chance… please…"

She hung up just as another plate crashed against the door. The fear jolted her thinking, and she remembered the list of numbers. She had set the little paper next to her phone. She'd already burdened Shizuru today... She scouted for Botan's number but it wasn't there…

She punched in the numbers as what she could only assume was a coffee mug smashed into the closed door. She practically jumped out of her skin, on the brink of tears. Tobio's hissing drew her attention to her pet. She hoped with every fiber in her being the woman hadn't appeared.

He was hissing at the door.

"Kuwabara household. Shizuru speaking."

"Um… hey, Shizuru!" Megumi squeaked, sitting against her nightstand and curling into the nook between it and her bed. If she could just ease into a conversation maybe she could ask to go over. She blinked away the tears stinging at her eyes. "I was, uh… just calling to talk…"

There was a brief pause before Shizuru spoke. "Where do you live?"

"Huh? Oh…" Megumi rattled off the address to her. "Why?"

"I'll be over in a few."

"Oh, no!" But Shizuru had already hung up.

She stared at the phone, guilt washing over her. She didn't want Shizuru to come here and get hurt! She didn't want her to witness the mess…

She dialed the number again, but the call went to voicemail. She called again. And then once more.

Shizuru never picked up.

"Shit!" Megumi cried, slamming the phone against the wood of the nightstand.

She was so stupid! How could she note see why Shizuru would ask for her address? Why would Shizuru even ask to begin with…? Because Megumi was obviously a fucking wreck, duh! She buried her face in her hands and let out a frustrated scream.

Why did she tell Shizuru?! Why? Why? Why?

She had to have known Shizuru would come over if she gave the address. She was so horrible—manipulative! Selfish! Dragging her friend into her drama so she wouldn't feel alone!

She began hitting her head in frustration, grabbing her roots with force as another dish hit her door.

She had to clean up everything before Shizuru arrived, but she couldn't leave the room until they were gone... The last dish that had smashed against her door seemed to be the last, but she skeptically stayed in her nook. After what felt like hours, with bubbling anxiety in her heart, she glanced to the clock. It'd been about five minutes… and they hadn't made a sound…

She stood slowly, cautiously, and looked to Tobio for him to make a move or sound that said it was too dangerous to leave the room. He seemed calm, tense still, but calm. She opened the door slowly and peeked around the hallway.

They were… gone…

She wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed the mucus back where it belonged. She looked around the hallway again. Empty. She didn't feel the same eerie presence. The same cold chill.

She spent the next few minutes hurriedly sweeping up the broken glass and ceramic all around the house. Her door was scuffed a bit, but it would be fine with another paint job. It wasn't noticeable unless she really looked at it.

She managed to multitask handling the chicken but it ended up a bit crisp to her liking. Eh... it would still be fine to eat. Luckily, just as she swept up the last of the damage around the kitchen and dumped the shards into the trash bin, the doorbell rang.

Before leaving the kitchen, she made sure everything looked right. Everything was put away, no broken plates or glass... Presentable.

She peeked out the peephole and opened the door, both thankful and guilty to see Shizuru on her doorstep. Megumi opened the door and gave Shizuru a sheepish smile.

Hands in her jacket pockets, Shizuru glanced around the inside of Megumi's house briefly.

"I'm uh... I'm making chicken ramen…" Megumi forced a smile and moved out of the way to let Shizuru in. "Would you like some?"

"Sure." Shizuru was noticeably less interested in Megumi's offer and far more inclined to looking around the house.

Megumi watched her curiously… why was she suspicious? She quickly noted the little backpack strap on Shizuru's shoulder… she brought clothes.

Why… would she…? Shizuru must have known something was up with Megumi, but the ebony-haired girl couldn't fathom her coworker knowing about all _this_. So…why? Was Shizuru worried Megumi would off herself?

Had she been giving off those vibes?

Shizuru noticed her eyeing the backpack and gave a reassuring smile. "Figured you'd like some company, with your friend in the hospital and all."

"Oh… yeah…" Megumi sighed. She just looked depressed to everyone, not… entirely crazy... She didn't know whether to feel relieved or ashamed.

Shizuru's nose twitched, sparking Megumi's curiosity. "Something's burning."

Megumi paled, blanched, as she realized what it was.

"Oh, _crap!"_ She jumped and turned around, crying out. "The chicken!"

As Megumi sprinted to the kitchen to save dinner, Shizuru glanced around the hallway and into the living room. She exerted some of her reiki as a warning, daring any youkai or ghoul to show their face in her presence.


	4. IV

**IV. SKIN OF THE NIGHT.**

* * *

The warm, comforting presence of Shizuru was short-lived, because she didn't deserve to feel the safety of Shizuru's company. She needed to confess to Shizuru, apologize, and tell her she was sorry for dragging her here to deal with her emotional mess.

What kind of friend would she be if she lied to her? What if they got closer and Shizuru found out and she hated her and stopped being friends with her?

She was a horrible person. Say it, Megumi! At least hint at why she really called her coworker. She owed Shizuru that much.

"Megumi?"

"Huh?" She snapped out of her obsessing and looked across the table to her coworker.

Shizuru frowned, chopsticks hanging loosely between her fingers above her ramen. "How're you holding up?"

"Oh… I…" Say it, Megumi! Keeping secrets from people is horrible! Don't be a horrible person!

"You sounded scared over the phone," Shizuru continued.

 _Megumi, you're a horrible person_! She hated herself; she couldn't get her throat to work right. Apologize to Shizuru, Megumi! It's only right.

"I hope you didn't feel like you had to come over," Megumi managed with a shaky, feeble smile. "I don't want to burden you."

"If I didn't want to come over, I wouldn't have," she replied simply, slipping her chopsticks into the noodles.

Megumi was glad to hear that, but something deep down still had her writhing with guilt. Should she still tell Shizuru? Should she apologize for calling upset and giving her address with such ease? Should she apologize for being manipulative? Would apologizing for being manipulative be manipulative?

"It's burnt," Shizuru said, holding a piece of chopped chicken in her chop sticks that was burnt on only one side.

"Huh?" Again, she snapped out of her trance and looked across the table to Shizuru. "Oh."

Megumi leaned over and plucked the chicken from Shizuru's chopsticks and dumped it in her own ramen before digging out a well-cooked one. She put it in Shizuru's bowl just as the brunette picked out another burnt piece.

Before Shizuru could tease Megumi, the ebony haired girl repeated the process—over and over until there were no more pieces of acceptable chicken to trade.

Megumi sighed and leaned her head in the table. "Sorry. Maybe we should just order take-out…"

"It's fine," Shizuru chuckled. "We'll eat around it."

Megumi picked her head up from the table and sighed again. "I wish I knew where Keiko's restaurant was. I was thinking about getting some from her because it was so good." Megumi picked around the burnt chicken and twisted the noodles around her chopsticks. "Are the broth and noodles good at least? The vegetables?"

Shizuru had just taken a mouthful of said ingredients and gagged at the taste.

"Yeah…" Megumi laughed feebly. "Let's order take-out."

Not even an hour later and the two sat on the couch watching prime time TV; a popular cop drama played out on the screen. Between them was a large pizza.

"I still can't get over how disgusting that is," Megumi laughed, her hand over her mouth as she was still chewing her slice.

"Your ramen?" Shizuru replied, picking a mushroom off her next slice and setting it back in the box between them.

"No, you eat yours with _pineapple_. Pineapple and pepperoni. That's absolutely disgusting."

Tobio's mewling could be heard from the foot of the couch. Megumi and Shizuru leaned over to see the little black ball of fluff looking up at them expectantly.

"There you are," Megumi cooed. "Where've you been hiding all this time?"

"This your cranky cat you've been talking about?" Shizuru asked, watching as Tobio hopped up to the armrest of the couch on Shizuru's side, letting a little rumble sound in his throat.

"Yeah, this is Tobio." She smiled. "And he's hoping to eat your slice—probably because it reminds him of his food."

Shizuru ran her hand down Tobio's back and he purred. "Sorry, mister man, I don't share my food. I think Megumi's toppings are right up your alley, though."

Tobio grumbled, hopped onto the back of the couch, and made his way to Megumi's side, meowing loudly. Megumi set her slice back in the box and picked him up.

"Let's go find you some food that looks like Shizuru's, yeah?" she giggled, walking to the kitchen.

Shizuru felt the air around them when Megumi disappeared, searching for traces of anymore youki or strange reiki. When she first arrived the place was steaming with ki from other beings but it disappeared quickly when she arrived. Anything with a different aura or an ugly tail tucked it between its legs and ran away.

"Do you want to put your stuff in the guest room?" Megumi offered from the kitchen.

"Sure." Shizuru looked over her shoulder and saw Megumi walk into the hallway.

As she followed Megumi to the stairs, she glanced at the family portraits that hung on the hallway walls. A happy, old couple together in front of a traditional farmhouse in the countryside; a younger couple dressed in traditional wedding attire at a beautiful shrine; and Megumi with the same young couple in front of middle school.

Shizuru's eyes lingered on the last photo, noting Megumi's wide smile as she stood between her parents in front of her middle school's gate.

"This used to be my room when Grandmama was still alive," Megumi said, halfway up the stairs.

Shizuru came up behind her as she opened the door to a nice room. Queen sized bed, white sheets and duvet cover, with a vanity next to the door. Megumi turned on the light and moved aside to let Shizuru set her backpack on the bed.

"Then I moved into her room," she continued. "But this room is really nice. The window doesn't catch the sunrise—only the sunset. So if you like to sleep in, you're in luck."

"If the guest room is this nice, I bet your room's a palace," Shizuru noted dryly.

"I'll be changing in my chambers," Megumi sang, twirling on the balls of her feet.

She headed down the hallway to her room and Shizuru's smirk died quickly after she opened her bag to pull out clothes. She felt the chill in the air and looked over her shoulder. Nothing.

Shizuru quickly pulled out a tank top and cotton pajama pants and changed her clothes. She felt the chill again and knew she was being taunted. She trailed slowly down the hallway, following the cold air. She stopped just steps away from Megumi's cracked open door.

She could hear Megumi's voice behind it softly. "…just give me a call tomorrow morning! Bye."

She felt for the cold ki inside, but it was gone. Shizuru knew she was waiting, playing a game. The brunette knocked on the door lightly with her knuckles.

"Oh, come in," Megumi called.

Shizuru stepped in the room and her hands found their way to the pockets in her pajamas.

"Sorry it's such a mess," Megumi laughed, kicking a pair of leggings and shorts into a little pile of clothes near her dresser. "I used to keep my room all nice and neat… Now in my spare time I just try to sleep."

Shizuru looked around the room, exerting her ki softly again in warning. Megumi hiked up her blue pajama shorts and lifted her arms to shake the long sleeves of her grey sweatshirt to her forearms.

"Something wrong?" Megumi asked, reaching for a hair tie on the dresser.

"No," Shizuru replied. "I was just noticing I underestimated just how big your room really was. It's so spacious compared to your station at the salon."

"Oh yeah, I wish I had more space at my station," Megumi replied, tying her curls in a high ponytail. She walked to one of the sliding doors. "But most of the space is because of the closet. It's pretty big. Grandmama liked to stash all her antiques and stuff from the early nineteen hundreds in here."

She pulled it open and Shizuru noted how neat the boxes were placed against the walls of the walk-in closet. Expensive blouses and slacks hung from the plastic hangers on the adjacent walls and shoes ranging from five inch heels to flats lay on the top shelf near the ceiling.

"Quite an arsenal you've got in here," Shizuru noted, finding one of the pairs to be the newest released this season.

"Grandmama made a lot of money," Megumi replied, walking into the closet and squatting to pick up something atop one of the boxes. "She was a renowned psychic in Tokyo…" In her hands was a large photo album. She laughed as she walked past Shizuru. "Bet you think that's a bunch of crock, huh?"

Shizuru lingered in the closet before turning off the light and sliding the door closed. Megumi crawled on the bed and turned around, waiting for Shizuru's response.

"Or do you believe in the supernatural too?" she smirked.

Shizuru debated her reply for a moment before walking to the bed. "Well, you know what they say: seeing is believing."

Megumi patted the bed and opened the album. "You want to see the worst picture ever taken of me? I feel it's only right for dragging you out here."

"I can tell you're an only child," Shizuru chuckled, sitting next to Megumi on the bed.

"Well, I saw the photographs on the wall in your home of you and your family." Megumi smiled. "Your mom was really pretty; her eyes reminded me of my Grandmama's when she was little."

Shizuru raised an eyebrow at the words and then noticed the photograph Megumi's index finger landed on.

"See?" Megumi looked up to Shizuru, who was taking the photo in.

The woman had to be in her early thirties, with striking, dark eyes and defined cheekbones. An air of power and authority on otherwise soft features. A traditional portrait, sepia-toned, with an expensive kimono of extravagant design.

Megumi's eyes never left Shizuru's face. How could she look away when she started smiling, even if it was only softly?

"She does look like my mom, huh?" Shizuru breathed. "Same eyes. The kind of glare that set you straight before you did anything wrong."

Megumi laughed. "A warning you would be six feet under if you continued doing whatever it was you were doing."

"Or thinking of doing." Shizuru looked over the pictures.

"That one was in Hokkaido," Megumi said as Shizuru glanced over the nature and city shots. "You want me to bring the pizza up here? I have some liquor, too."

"Yeah, sure," Shizuru replied absentmindedly, looking over the photographs.

Megumi hopped off her bed and left the room, leaving Shizuru to her own agenda. Maybe there was a tie to Megumi's history and this evil spirit haunting her, the brunette thought. Unlikely given the circumstances, but with the opportunity to look into her family history she figured she should rule it out indefinitely. Besides, it was interesting enough to see where her new friend came from.

She flipped through the photos, the nature and city shots, hoping to see a link—but at the same time, enjoying the little trip down Megumi's family history. She had finally reached the recent photographs of Megumi's grandmother, photos of the woman on her deathbed in the hospital.

Megumi sat by her side, holding her hand and smiling. Neither of them seemed to notice their photo being taken as they smiled at each other, talking away. Another photo showed the youth painting the elder's nails in the same bed to give them matching colors.

"Oh no, did you get to that hideous picture of me in my second year of junior high?" Megumi laughed, entering the room.

She balanced the large box of pizza in one hand like a waitress would her tray—with two glasses of ice on top—and in the other a half-finished bottle of Brandy. Tobio trailed behind her briefly before entering the room, and he quickly jumped on the bed to sit next to Shizuru.

"This one?" Shizuru pointed at the one at the bottom of the page.

Shizuru looked down at the plain-jane picture before her. Little pock marks riddled Junior High Megumi's cheeks and chin, her hair was the stereotypical bowl-cut, her smile was lopsided, she wore thick-framed spectacles, and one of her two front teeth overlapped the other slightly.

Megumi squealed in disgust, dropping the pizza box behind Shizuru. "We were all ugly at one point in our lives, right?"

Shizuru laughed. "I sure wasn't."

"Shizuru, you're so mean!" Megumi whined with a pout. "You're only nice when you're liquored up!"

"Liquor's a girl's best friend, what can I say—" She lifted the book to point to Megumi's Junior High school photo. "Sloppy Grin Megumi?"

"If your choice in toppings wasn't so gross, I'd eat all your slices to spite you," Megumi snorted through her laughter and slapped the photo album out of Shizuru's hands.

Tobio quickly got up from his spot and scampered to the photo album to sit on it. He immediately curled up on top of it and stared Megumi down.

"He loves sitting on that thing for some reason," Megumi sighed, rolling her eyes as she pulled out a slice of pizza. "The little metal binder things don't seem to bother him but that's probably because he's too fat to notice." She stuck out her tongue at her cat.

Shizuru scratched behind his ear, encouraging the cat to continue his subtle antics. Megumi scooped him up and put him on her stomach as she rolled over on her back, and the two went through Megumi's photo album and talked about their times in junior high over cold pizza and liquor.

Megumi's chatter with her friend eventually grew slower as she finished her third glass. She felt warm again, safe. Not guilty… and safe.

For the first time in a long time, she felt safe in her own home—her own room. She dozed off quickly and it took Shizuru a few minutes of silence to realize Megumi had actually fallen asleep.

Slowly, Shizuru got off the bed and lifted the empty box. She carefully took the bottle of Brandy and set it on the dresser next to the bed and then picked up the empty glasses that fueled their conversations for the past two hours.

Tobio perked up from his post on Megumi's stomach and hopped off her—barely disturbing her from her slumber. She grunted slightly and rolled onto her side.

"So, little man, where are we putting this?" Shizuru asked quietly, staring down at the fur ball.

Tobio responded by walking past her and into the hallway. She followed the cat into the kitchen and he meowed at the counter.

"Glasses too?" she asked, receiving another mew. "Where's the recycling, then?"

She put the glasses in the small sink and followed Tobio to the sliding glass door. The air outside was chill but she couldn't help but feel it held a different sort of cold to it. She silently dared the woman to show up in front of her. He led her around the side of the house outside and rubbed himself against a relatively small garbage can meant for one person.

The chill wasn't for her; the woman was just taunting her again.

After dumping everything in the right cans, she picked up her pace to return inside, feeling the heat of the house melt the cold that latched to her every pore. She quickly headed to Megumi's room, feet padding quietly against the wood floors as she came upon the master bedroom. Stepping foot inside, she found a translucent woman hovering next to the window, her feet less than an inch from the ground.

Shizuru took in her torn, dirty, and bloody business blouse and exerted her ki again to establish a territory. "You got a lot of nerve showing yourself, you know that?"

In the blink of an eye, the woman was at the other end of the room, right across from the bed. If her hair wasn't shielding her face, maybe Shizuru could have gotten a sense of who she was—at least have been able to recant the details to Botan so she could search for her files.

"What's your damage with Megumi, huh?" Shizuru snapped under her breath.

She waited for a response, hoping to at least hear her voice, but all she received was a deep, curled-lipped scowl. She watched the spirit's every movement, waiting for the moment she—

Shizuru ran to the bed as the ghost sprinted towards Megumi, screeching her shrill banshee scream.

Shizuru couldn't make it in time; the spirit had already reached Megumi. But just as the spirit was inches from the girl, she disappeared into thin air. At the same moment, Megumi woke up screaming, thrashing her arms in fear as if she'd just woken from a nightmare. Her eyes were closed tight, scared to open.

"Megumi!" Shizuru hissed, trying to grab hold of the girl's wrists so she didn't hurt either of them. "Megumi, calm down! You're alright!" Megumi continued screaming until Shizuru's voice finally broke through. "Megumi, it's _me!_ It's fine!"

Megumi gasped loudly, deeply, as she finally opened her eyes. She looked around the room as Shizuru held onto her wrists. Finally, her brown eyes landed on Shizuru and she sighed in relief.

"Sorry… I, uh… Nightmare," she choked out quickly, breath still heavy. Warm tears trickled down her face as beads of sweat rolled down the back of her neck. "Sorry."

Shizuru nodded slowly in disbelief but said nothing as she let go of Megumi.

"It's fine…" Shizuru replied. "I just stepped out to throw away the trash. Tobio led me."

Megumi, still shaking slightly, looked down at her little fur ball who had just lept on the bed. The girl sighed and petted her cat with trembling hands as it crawled into her lap. No wonder she suddenly felt the woman was here—no wonder the woman probably _was_ here… Shizuru had left.

Megumi wanted to ask Shizuru to stay up with her a bit longer but knew that wasn't a good idea. Shizuru shouldn't even be here in the first place; she shouldn't be subjected to this.

Besides, the last time the woman ignored her, she taunted another one of her friends to suicide. She didn't want to risk that again. She didn't want to wake up to another message on the answering machine, another phone call…

"I'm fine, thank you." Megumi smiled weakly. "Are you tired?"

Megumi still felt jittery, alert, but it was gradually disappearing. Shizuru's brevity on the nightmare subject let her focus on other things, forget what happened.

"Not really," Shizuru replied, getting up from the bed. The answer took Megumi by surprise, and her head cocked to the side a tad. "You got any books in here?"

"Uh, yeah… In the closet," Megumi answered, hesitant. "Some history books and manga. The other books are my grandmama's; she liked classic literature."

Shizuru went into the closet and came out with a book a few moments later. "Mind if I read this in here?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Go ahead," Megumi said, punching herself internally for being selfish yet again. "What book is it?"

" _Kazashi no Himegimi_ ," she replied and sat on the other end of the bed. "I heard there were only four manuscripts of this and they were in libraries." *****

"If it's a real manuscript then Grandmama probably stole it, to be honest." Megumi lay on her back, head landing on her pillow. "If she really liked a book, she'd find a way to get it. Sometimes she copied them down herself if she couldn't get a published copy. What's it about?"

Megumi kicked the covers that were under her down like a child would, and then picked them up and pulled them over her. Shizuru leaned against the headrest of the bed, and that little act made Megumi's heart race—and not in a good way.

She needed to convince Shizuru to sleep in the guest room. What if Megumi fell asleep and the woman went after Shizuru? She couldn't have a repeat of the Kenji incident.

"It's about this princess who falls in love with a guy she met in her dreams and they exchange marriage vows," she said, turning away from the bed and blowing the dust off the cover. "It's a bit strange but it has a nice twist."

But she couldn't figure a way to tell Shizuru to leave. She didn't want Shizuru to leave. She was scared to be alone; she wanted Shizuru's company. She was selfish again. What would happen if she ever had to tell Shizuru about this? That she lied and put her in danger just because she was selfish and scared? Her stomach churned; she was a horrible person.

"...you know," Shizuru said, to which Megumi, once again, looked up to Shizuru in confused surprise.

"Huh?"

"If you're tired you can turn off the light on your side," she said again.

But instead of retorting, "why don't you read in the guest room?" Megumi complied and rolled over to her nightstand to turn off the light.

As Shizuru held idle chatter with her, Megumi fermented in guilt and continued her obsessing. The simple conversation let her reply with soft grunts and short nods, which she could chalk up to being tired when asked.

But internally, she was paranoid that she was a horrible person, that Shizuru would end up hurt—that Shizuru would one day hate her for this. But the guilt was nothing compared to the absolute fear she had of being tormented, so falling asleep was easy despite her racing thoughts.

Later into the night, as Shizuru was near finished with the book, Tobio found his way between the two, curling into a ball to fall asleep by his owner.

When Shizuru felt Tobio was asleep, she put her hand on Megumi's pillow, feeling for the girl's ki—to see if it was altered, if the woman possessed her. Megumi felt clean—herself.

The woman was just toying with her, driving her insane. The brunette wondered if the woman tormented her in her dreams too, if Megumi had any peace when she wasn't around. As much as Shizuru liked her friend, she couldn't spend every waking moment monitoring Megumi's life.

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

Michiru had managed to end up deeper in the cave than before. She knew how to get back: so long as she walked _up_ the slanted path, she'd get out. The only problem was the paths she chose to take—some sloped up only to curve and slope down again.

It didn't help that even though her eyes had adjusted, the cave didn't exactly have a variety in scenery. She couldn't tell which path she'd taken and which she'd just came out from.

She regretted sprinting off, leaving Megumi. She'd felt the dewy grip on her arm, and all she could think to do was run.

Was Megumi okay? Had she gotten away?

No way was that dewy plant thing real—it was probably Yamato playing a fucked up prank… But she didn't like the feel of this cave, and the night had turned eerie ever since they pulled out the Ouija board. She was letting fear get to her, and it was only making things worse!

Michiru took a deep breath and puffed out her chest before marching on. It didn't matter if she was lost because she was bound to find someone sooner or later!

But with each passing moment, and each winding path, and each…unfamiliar…path… she began losing confidence.

Reassurance flew out the window quickly, even when she hit flat ground for the first time. That wasn't good, either, since she'd been walking down and not up. That meant she reached what very well could have been the bottom of the cave.

Hand against the damp, rocky wall, she continued forward.

Soon, she could hear a soft voice. Her heart skipped a beat—maybe it was one of the boys! It was definitely masculine, but she couldn't make out the words.

Eyes already adjusted to the darkness, she ran forward, hearing the voice grow louder. But soon her legs began to slow as the voice registered as unfamiliar. They still carried her forward, curiously tempted to know who else could possibly be at the bottom of the cave.

Surely it couldn't actually _be_ someone. Had she finally snapped in the darkness? Was she having a brief psychotic reaction to the situation?

She strained her ears to pick up the moaning words as her heart beat into her throat.

 _Why won't…_

Her feet carried her still. She closed her eyes to better hear—a habit that didn't make a difference at the moment—and concentrated.

 _Why can't…_

Her heart beat in her ears, and she opened her eyes and took in the dark surroundings. Though colors were gone, she could see the outlines, the silhouettes. The figure.

 _Why can't I kill you? Why won't you die?_

A grotesque monster—an unfinished decapitation?—rooted to the ground. Thick, winding roots buried into the dirt beneath him; sturdy and firm branches locked him in place; and some even pierced his skin—ran clean through his body.

He decried someone's name over and over, jerking about sluggishly in the wood's unwavering hold.

Her feet finally stopped moving as she came close enough to see the monster's body. Cut clean from the jaw was the upper half of the head—except, something was still there, and it wasn't what was supposed to be there.

Another head, scrawny and lithe, was the one bemoaning in the original's place. It jerked around softly, tiredly, staring up into the distance as if it was talking to someone.

 _I'll kill you! No matter what it takes, you'll die by my hands!_

Michiru stepped back, lost her footing over a small rock, and fell to the ground. As her bottom hit the cold rock below, she let out a scream and scrambled away from the monster.

 _Die! Die! Why won't you die?!_

She pushed herself up and ran back the way she came, throat running raw as her voice echoed around her.

 _Die! Die, damn you!_

* * *

 **THE IJIRI HOUSEHOLD**

The smell of familiar chemicals and perfume wafted in Megumi's nose as she gave a small grunt. Half awake, desperate to get back to sleep, she adjusted herself slightly. She found herself wrapping her arm tighter around another body.

Ah… Yamato?

Dazed, she held him tighter, hand running gently up his side, over his chest, until… she paused when she felt a soft, supple curve.

Not Yamato… She and Yamato broke up.

She moved her hand back to the body's side, feeling the curve of the waist as she drifted back into a peaceful slumber. It felt quick because she remembered thinking a string of relatively coherent thoughts. Yamato didn't smell like chemicals and perfume; he smelled like body and mouth wash.

Eyelids too heavy to open, she decided she was in good hands—she had to be. Because she felt safe, warm—the unfortunately familiar chill in the air was gone. She was safe; the person she held was solid—not a translucent being playing on her fear.

Adjusting her head in the nook of the body's arm and torso, she felt back asleep. But the movements and bright morning light from the window woke Shizuru up.

With a small sigh, she blinked away the sleep before reaching her free hand up and rubbing the sand from her eyes gently. She glanced down to find Megumi had wrapped herself around her. Tobio, who lay between the two, let his tail swish back and forth leisurely, staring at Shizuru. He blinked lazily, slowly, before opening his mouth wide to let out a yawn.

His tail slapped the book that lay on her stomach and she picked it up carefully before setting it on the nightstand next to her. She looked down at Megumi, wondering if she could roll out of the girl's hold, but quickly found she had an iron grip.

Sighing again, she picked up the book again, opened it, and placed it on her face to block out the sun. She fell back asleep the repetitive taps on the covers from Tobio's tail and the steady rhythm of Megumi's breathing.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 ***** _Kazashi no Himegimi_ is a short story (consisting of one volume, so I consider it short...), published from anytime in the Muromachi period (1336 - 1573). The original author's unknown. Its plot is about the marriage between different species (a common genre, apparently...), this one particularly being between a flower spirit and a human.

Hope you'll leave a review on your way out! See y'all again sometime—hopefully—soon.


	5. V

**V. SLEEPYHEAD.**

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

A shrill shriek bounced off the cave walls and into Megumi's ears. Still shaking in fright from feeling the dewy-grassy grip on her arm, she curled into the wall. With shaky eyes, she looked around the dark tunnel she was in.

It sounded like Michiru—what if the thing that touched her had Michiru?

No, because monsters weren't real! She didn't know what that thing was but it wasn't a monster. It must have been Yamato because it couldn't have been a monster… right?

The screams echoed in the tunnels and traveled upwards. Megumi concentrated in the darkness to make out any figures. Maybe she'd find Kenji—maybe Michiru would show up… hopefully not bringing anything with her!

She'd gotten lost in her fit of fear and couldn't find her way back. She tried staying where she was, to not get lost deeper in the cave, but sitting alone in the dark was just as unnerving.

She hated tonight. She hated Yamato—she was going to kill him and Kenji for dragging them into this stupid shit! If that was a monster and he did eat Yamato, then she hoped she could just find the keys to the car and leave this hell hole.

She knew she would feel bad about Yamato's death, considering she couldn't stop thinking about it, but she was more concerned about getting the hell out before she was next.

The screaming hadn't stopped—just short intervals to catch breath—and it was growing louder. Michiru should be coming her way soon!

"Michiru!" Megumi screamed into the darkness, hoping to lure her friend over. "Michiru! Where are you?"

She followed Michiru's voice, running down a relatively steep path. Gravity carried her more than her legs could, and in the darkness, she ran over something. Her ankle twisted sharply, though luckily, slightly, and her knee buckled thereafter. Her outstretched hand scuffed along the dirt as she hit the ground, and a sharp pain surged in her knees.

Angry, she screamed. "Michiru, where the fuck are you?!"

There was no reply, only her echoes responded.

She pushed herself up and sat on her bottom. Hands blindly running over her jeans, shaky palms brushed over fresh cuts. Hissing at the stinging knee, she cursed a few more obscenities before planting her hands on the ground to push herself up.

Before her hand could reach the ground, it planted upon something else. Something brittle, fragile, that broke under the weight of her palm. Sharp shards pierced her skin, and she jerked her hands away.

Clasping her free hand over the new wound, she grumbled at the touch of blood. Squinting, glaring at the ground and what could have _cut_ her in the barren land that was this dark hellhole.

Pupils dilating as far as possible, shapes and shades began forming. She couldn't place the items below her. They weren't familiar shapes.

Curious, wanting to break whatever it was for stabbing her, she plucked the object from its resting place. Her fingers slipped into some holes, and her brows furrowed in confusion. She clutched the item, feeling the rough dirt caked on the surface.

Her eyes continued adjusting as she felt the unfamiliar texture. Soon she found in her hand a human skull. With a sharp gasp, she dropped it with haste, and watched as it fell to the ground and shattered completely. Dread and regret filled her, she shouldn't have dropped it out of instinct like that.

Feeling the taboo crawling upon her skin, wrapping itself around her like a thick blanket, she stood. Continuing down the sloped path, she hoped to run into Michiru.

* * *

 **THE IJIRI HOUSEHOLD**

Megumi awoke to a shrill ringing. She sat up in bed quickly, startled, until her brain was able to place the noise as the phone.

With a small groan she rolled to the other side of the bed and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she breathed into the receiver, head falling back on the pillow.

Everything was so comfortable. It had been so long since she felt this content. The pillows were soft and welcoming, enveloping her. They pulled her away from the phone and back into sleep.

"Just calling to check on you!" Michiru's voice sounded particularly chipper this morning, bringing Megumi back. "I'm headed to work now. Call me before you go to bed, okay?"

Megumi smiled. "Yeah… I'm still sleeping so… yeah. I'll call you tonight."

"I'll let you get back to sleep." Michiru hung up, not even saying goodbye.

Megumi didn't seem to care. Michiru was known for running out the door at the last minute to ensure she walked into her job as the clock struck the hour. With closed eyes, Megumi tried putting the receiver back in its handle. The many misses and loud clacks from the phone hitting the holster reminded her she wasn't alone in her bed.

A soft, tired groan sounded from the other side and she rolled over and peaked at the figure with squinted eyes. Shizuru was rubbing the sand from her eyes on the other side of the bed. Megumi smiled, realizing she'd had the first decent night of sleep in who knows how long. And it was all thanks to Shizuru.

"Good morning," Megumi said, sleep still clogging her throat.

She rolled over and smiled up at Shizuru as the brunette tried waking herself up. Shizuru cleared her own before glancing to the girl next to her with tired eyes.

"Morning." She gave a small smile. "Sleep well?"

"Surprisingly, yes," Megumi laughed and then stretched. After a small groan, she sat upright. "What about you? You want breakfast?"

"I don't think any place delivers this early," Shizuru yawned before stretching herself.

Megumi's brows knitted together. "I can make something."

"After last night's cooking, I thought we agreed to just do takeout—" Megumi's pillow landed in Shizuru's face. Megumi huffed and threw the covers off herself as Shizuru laughed quietly to herself.

"I'm making breakfast so if you want some, you better show up downstairs." Megumi threw up her hair in a clip and headed out of her room.

Shizuru still lay in Megumi's bed, almost burning up. She kicked off the covers and let the cold air hit her before soaking in the atmosphere. Relaxing, welcoming, for some reason familiar, and most importantly, safe. No evil aura or sign of youki. As much as she liked spending time with Megumi, she couldn't be attached to her at the hip. Eventually, Shizuru had to leave for one reason or another.

She had to get rid of the ghost, but the hateful woman wasn't eager to talk. She was sure that it wouldn't be as easy as Botan just dragging her to Reikai for sentencing either. Megumi would have to fix the mess that caused this or do some sort of ritual to break the hateful ki plaguing the ghost.

With a groan, her palm flew to her face. She couldn't do that without telling Megumi... But was Megumi mentally stable enough at the time to handle all the info? Not everyone who learned about Reikai and Makai when the barrier went down—due to having a higher spiritual awareness threshold—was able to mentally handle it if their lives were already in turmoil.

She'd just have to ease into it, tread lightly, and see if she had any clue already.

The smell of Megumi's house was different in the morning, it seemed, even if it was subtle. The air was still and fresh—a crisp chill and fragrant in perfume and natural odors. The wood was cold against her feet, waking her up more and more with each step. As she neared the kitchen, a soft, sweet aroma reached her nose.

Megumi looked over her shoulder to find Shizuru entering the kitchen. Despite the messy hair and groggy face, Shizuru was still a looker. Megumi wondered if she ever had a boyfriend before. How she longed to wake up still looking good. Tousled light brown hair flowed from Shizuru's head and laid gently against her back. Her tired pout added an air of nonchalance to her aesthetic.

"How do you like your eggs?" Megumi asked, returning to mixing the pancake batter.

"Western style breakfast, huh?" Shizuru asked. "Over medium, on the hard side."

"Do you like jam with your toast?" she asked. "Or just butter?"

"If you have raspberry jam, sure." Shizuru pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. The wood was cold against the back of her thighs but she paid no mind. Being so warm while asleep, she welcomed the coolness of everything in the house. "You need help with anything?"

"No," she replied, waving a hand around. "I'm fine. I can't fail breakfast."

For a short while, there was only the sound of butter sizzling in the pan on the stove. Finally, Shizuru figured how she wanted to phrase her approach. She leaned against the wood table, pressing her forearms into the cool wood.

"Remember what you were telling me about your grandmom last night?" she asked.

Megumi paused before flipping the pancake. "That she was a psychic? Yeah, what about it?"

"And how you asked if I believed in the supernatural."

Megumi set the pancake on a plate. "…Yeah? What about it?"

"Do you?"

She looked over her shoulder with a smirk, but it disappeared when she saw how serious Shizuru seemed. Megumi paused before turning back around to flip the next pancake.

"You first."

Megumi was always wary about who she told spiritual things to. Many times the "I can see ghosts and I guess youkai too" part didn't come up. That was mainly because the "I wholeheartedly believe ghosts are real" usually earned her a subtle, ridiculing laugh at best and full blown mocking at worst. Finding out how the other person felt first usually let her know how to approach her answer.

"I've seen some things," Shizuru replied blithely.

Megumi sighed in relief. "Me too."

"What have you seen?" The words came out blunter than she'd expect but Shizuru kept the air around them as calm as she could. Megumi turned around again to look at her, brows furrowed.

Breath caught in her throat, she looked desperately to Shizuru. Did she know? Was she aware? Could she help? She came despite knowing just how ugly things were for Megumi right now…. All the worry she had for possibly manipulating Shizuru into coming washed away for good. Shizuru had been looking out for her this whole time, hadn't she?

She looked to Shizuru with a small, appreciative smile. She had never been so thankful for getting close to someone before now. Before Megumi could find the words to reply, a familiar voice came from the front hall. Megumi and Shizuru froze in surprise and fear.

"Megumi? Are you home?"

Shizuru stood from her seat, posture ready to accommodate a throw down. Megumi hurriedly took the pan off the burner and went to Shizuru's side.

"You know that voice?" Shizuru whispered, to which Megumi nodded.

"I didn't think he still had my key…"

Yamato.

Shizuru's posture relaxed some as Yamato entered the kitchen. He paused at the sight of the two girls in chilly pajamas. It never crossed his mind—he didn't think anything about the two. Whether they were friends, who the new friend was and why he'd never seen this person before, and why they were close enough to spend the night. None of that mattered and he didn't think to care. His eyes then landed on Megumi.

"Michiru wasn't home," he gasped for breath like he'd been running. "What hospital is Kenji in?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry this is so late. I'm still on hiatus and I've been dealing with a lot lately. I churned this out hoping it'd reignite a spark in my love for writing but that flame seems to be dying out no matter what I do.


	6. VI

**VI. CONTACT.**

* * *

Shizuru walked next to Megumi in the parking lot, and Yamato trailed along behind them. He had half a mind to ask who Shizuru was, but was more concerned about his friend. The way Megumi clung to Shizuru's side, gently touched her arm, smiled when she talked…. It was familiar.

The jealousy was eating at him, but his resolve to see Kenji kept him together. Why she had to come along was all the more confusing to him.

Kenji. He was here for Kenji. Quit it.

Upon entering the hospital, the awkward atmosphere became thicker. Hospitals were always unnerving for Megumi. The stench of death and the sad, fresh souls were something she tried to avoid. But life, of course, led her here and always would. The same it would anyone else. She kept her eyes on the clean white tiles, wrapping her fingers around Shizuru's sleeve.

She led the way to the room, guiding Shizuru and staying closer to her, but there was no talking in the group. Megumi was oblivious to the dubious, confused look Yamato was boring into the back of her head. Shizuru, though, was not, but she said nothing. No reason in provoking an ex.

They stepped up to the room, and the door was wide open. Immediately, Shizuru noticed the brunette at the bedside. Curled into the bedside chair, a beautiful young woman flipped leisurely through a fashion magazine. What Shizuru noticed next, though, was the faint pressure in the room. It was soft, lingering, but still present. Whatever left it was long gone by now.

"Hey, Michiru," Megumi said quietly, as if it would stir the comatose patient lying in bed. "I thought you were at work."

Brown eyes lifted from the colorful words spelling out a makeup routine and landed on the trio. Confusion first, at the sight of Shizuru; understanding next, at the sight of Megumi; and thankfulness last, at the sight of Yamato. She hadn't seen Yamato for a while, and the tears immediately welled up in her eyes.

She pushed herself from the chair, ready to embrace her friend, but paused in realization. Thankful she hadn't gotten too far out of her seat to look suspicious, she pretended to adjust her sitting position.

"Hey, guys!" She smiled. "Glad you could make it. I, uh… I wasn't useful at work so they sent me home."

Yamato went to hug his friend, but she leaned away as he bent to wrap his arms around her. He looked down at her, slightly offended.

"Sorry, Yamato." She gave a sympathetic smile. "I… I think a hug will make me come undone… you know?"

His eyes glanced to Megumi, who merely gave a curt shrug.

"Who's this?" Michiru asked, nodding to Shizuru with a welcoming smile.

"Ah, my coworker," Megumi replied, gesturing to the tall brunette next to her. "Kuwabara, Shizuru. Shizuru, this is Maruyama, Michiru. She's engaged to Kenji here." She nodded to the young, bandaged man in bed. "Nishiki, Kenji."

Shizuru's eyes moved from the bedridden man to the one standing across from her.

"And this is Yamato," Megumi finished. "Kurotani, Yamato."

The late introduction was made worse with how unwelcome Yamato silently intended to make Shizuru feel. Shizuru bowed slightly at the waist, and Michiru and Yamato returned it with the slight bow of their heads.

"You knew Kenji?" Michiru asked with furrowed brows.

"No." Shizuru closed her eyes with a nonchalant shrug. "I'm here for Megumi."

Michiru's eyes flickered to Megumi, who gave a bashful smile in return.

"Yeah… it's been hard on all of us," Michiru said.

"Tell me what happened," Yamato said, seating himself on the edge of the bed next to Kenji.

Megumi paid more attention to Michiru, watching her with curious eyes. Michiru had always been an extroverted person. She greeted friends and acquaintances—at least, after the initial introduction—alike with hugs and kisses on the cheek rather than the traditional modest bow. Though rare occasions they were, Michiru would avoid physical contact when deeply upset. But Megumi had seen that even in the harshest of times, Michiru would latch onto someone in an embrace and not let go.

"The doctors say he might not make it," Michiru said, drawing Megumi out of her thoughts. She looked to her friend in bed, bloody bandages covering half his face. The heart monitor's rhythm was slow, but just enough to keep it from screaming in alarm. "And even if he does he may have to stay on life support—he may not even wake up."

Michiru was crumbling—her voice, her posture. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, and when she went to wipe them away, Megumi saw it. Fresh bandages peeked out from underneath Michiru's long, burgundy sleeves. It was only a glimpse, but enough to see the dried stain.

Shocked, but somehow not surprised, Megumi faltered in her posture slightly. She regained composure immediately, and her mind ran wild.

Michiru paused before touching her face, and instead let the tears fall. "I don't think he'll make it…"

"Have hope, Michiru!" Yamato went to grab her shoulders, but she slunk away before he could grab them. He paused before pulling himself back and looked away from her, to Kenji. "He's made it through similar things before. He won't die."

The entirety of the scene wasn't lost on Shizuru, but she kept her eyes trained on Megumi, whose in turn were trained on Michiru.

Was Michiru hurting herself? Michiru fell into snares like that as anyone else would. She had her vices, the things that helped in such counterproductive ways. But never had Michiru taken a blade to her skin before.

"It's not the kind of pain I want," she'd said one night, hair tousled and makeup running. "It's not the kind of pain that helps, or wakes me up… That I like."

Michiru prided herself on her beauty, and avoided anything that would stain her somehow. Bruises disappeared. Alcohol and drugs left your system. Binge-eating could be corrected through starvation and intense exercise. She joked about becoming a model, but Megumi knew she would jump at the chance in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.

So, leaving marks on herself…

"Megumi?" Shizuru's voice brought her out of her reverie, and she found all eyes on her.

Touching her wet cheek she scrambled to find an excuse. Stuttering and pregnant pauses left Michiru to give her an understanding smile. "It's okay, Megu. You can come back again another time. I know it's a lot to take in."

"I… I'm sorry." Megumi found herself stumbling backwards before leaving the room. She guided herself down the hallway, using the wall as leverage. She stopped before the stairs, staring down them blankly.

If Michiru was actually attempting… Kenji had no hope. But Michiru was supposed to be stronger than that—she was ambitious. Love gave her so much, but she could live without it. So, why?

"Megumi?" Shizuru yet again dragged her out of her thoughts. "You're mumbling out loud."

Brown eyes snapped up to meet a darker shade, and she blinked away in realization. "Sorry. I'm—"

"Do you want to convince her to seek help?" Shizuru rested her hand on Megumi's arm.

Megumi swallowed thickly, inhaled deeply, and looked back down the stairs with wide eyes. "I… I'll talk to her."

"Th—"

"Megu." Yamato's voice came from a couple doors down. His hands rested in his jacket pockets, his stance defensive; he glared at the two girls warily.

She looked back to Shizuru and gave a feeble smile. "I'll give you a call later, okay?"

Shizuru hesitated before giving her arm a lingering squeeze. Just seconds later, she disappeared down the flight of stairs. Megumi steadied her breathing as she waited for Yamato to approach her. For the first time in weeks, she looked up at him, locking eyes.

"What was that?" he asked. "Back in the room. What did you see?"

She should probably tell Yamato, but he'd never dealt with it before. She wasn't sure he'd understand. She would talk to Michiru tonight, and if she was comfortable with Yamato knowing, she'd tell him.

"I think it's still fresh," she mumbled, shifting her gaze back to the floor. "The wounds, I mean… Seeing Kenji like that."

His nostrils flared, not believing her in the slightest, but he let it drop. Instead, he asked about something that had been gnawing at him since he first encountered it.

"Who is that woman?"

Megumi, with wide eyes, glanced around the hospital in fright—until she realized Yamato wouldn't be able to see the woman anyway. That left only one other person.

"I told you…" The fear in her eyes subsided as she looked back to her ex-lover. "My coworker."

With a lofted brow, he looked down at her. "How long has she been working there?"

Furrowed brows were accompanied with a scowl. "Since before even I started."

His lips twitched into a scowl as his eyes flickered to the staircase where Shizuru had disappeared not even five minutes ago.

"I don't trust her. The timing's all too convenient."

She wanted to retort that he didn't know every aspect of her life, every person she met, and every person she talked to. But, he did. Because she told him. She had to. Not because he asked her to—he never did. She had to.

It was a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach; she had to share everything. There were no secrets. She had to be an open book to him; if she wasn't, then it obviously wasn't true love… right? How could it possibly be, if her partner didn't know everything about her? The good, the bad, and the very, truly ugly.

Now, Yamato walked around with secrets she wished she'd never shared.

She frowned, still unable to move her eyes from their comfortable spot on the floor. "She's the only one I feel…"

Yamato had already begun walking away, back to the room down the hall. Confused, she reached out for him, despite him being feet away from her now.

"Yamato, what did you see?" she called, voice breaking in desperation.

He didn't reply, didn't so much as even flinch at the cry. He continued walking down the hall until he finally returned to the room, leaving Megumi alone in the sterile, quiet hallway. The hallway seemed to grow colder and colder as she stood in confusion, unsure if she'd misinterpreted his words.

More tears spilled down her face, but nurses and doctors alike paid her no mind as they passed by. It was a regular occurrence after all, to see someone crying in a hospital. She was thankful for it as she crumpled onto the bench against the wall, undisturbed.

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

"We've been walking for a while now," Yamato mumbled to Kenji, who led the way down the path.

"Yeah, well you can blame the girls for that."

They continued their trek down the steep slope, calling one of the girls' names every so often.

Yamato kept his mouth shut, because his only retort was that it was _his_ fault, and he couldn't own up to that. He trailed behind Kenji, trying to make sense of the path. The flashlight helped a great deal. Unfortunately, it didn't do much in the long run since the ground and walls all looked the _god damn same_.

"I'm thinking of donburi." *****

"Huh?" Yamato looked away from the wall to the back of Kenji's head.

"I'm thinking of donburi," he repeated. "For the engagement party. And then having karume-yaki, because it's Michiru's favorite." ******

"Out of everything you could have picked… You pick donburi."

"What? It's my favorite."

"I don't know. Maybe you should pick something more elegant for an engagement party's main course."

"Well, it's _our_ party," he replied. "I think we should have foods that _we_ like—wh _oa_ —"

Kenji's sharp scream pushed Yamato to a halt. "Kenji?"

It continued, echoed, but then seemed to grow farther and farther away.

"…Kenji?" Yamato called as the screams faded.

He stepped forward slowly, heart racing, beating in his ears. Where did he go? Where could he have gone in such a short amount of time?

His slow, dragging footsteps saved his life. He stopped just as quickly as he had only seconds ago as the ball of his foot came against the ledge. He backed up about a foot before getting on his knees and gingerly reaching over it.

It was a cliff. A fucking _cliff_. And Kenji fell off it.

* * *

 **THE MARUYAMA HOUSEHOLD**

Megumi stood outside on the front porch of Michiru's apartment. She told herself it was the chilly air that locked her arms up, preventing her from ringing the doorbell. She knew, though, she was just nervous. She was never one for confrontation—at least, not one to start it. When someone did her wrong, she dreamed of the scenarios in which she would put them in their place. But when the opportunities arose for her to do so, she took a meeker approach.

Michiru hadn't done her wrong, but she felt there was something Michiru was hiding. If she was going through something, Megumi didn't want her going through it alone.

Finally, she worked up the courage to ring the doorbell. It took only a few seconds for Michiru to answer the door. Confused, worried eyes cast over Megumi's form as she greeted her friend. Megumi took off her ankle boots at the door as Michiru closed it behind her.

"Are you doing okay?" Michiru asked as Megumi eyed the living room from where she stood.

Michiru had been planning to move in with Kenji once her lease was up. It was ending within the next couple of months, but there were boxes littering the living room floor. Michiru was always one to be a little early with deadlines, but this was a tad too much.

Just this morning she was crying over how Kenji wouldn't make it. Was she trying to convince herself he would?

"Megu?" Michiru tried again, and Megumi snapped out of her thoughts and looked to Michiru.

Giving a small smile, she replied. "I was worried about you."

"Me?" Michiru laughed, waving her hand flippantly as she passed Megumi by. "I'll be fine. I can get through this."

"But Michiru…" Megumi followed her friend into the living room and reached out for her arm.

As if sensing the intent, Michiru whirled around and stumbled away from Megumi in fright. She fell against the loveseat in front of the window and looked up at Megumi with fear.

" _That_!" Megumi continued to her friend. "That's what I'm worried about. Michiru, what's wrong?"

"Don't touch me!" she breathed, trembling and pushing herself into the corner of the couch.

"I won't. Just tell me what's wrong, Michiru." She sat at the other end of the couch cautiously, slowly. "Are you hurting yourself?"

"No," she replied hastily, moving to wrap her arms around herself but stopping. "I'm not."

"Does it hurt to be touched?" Megumi offered. "Maybe it's a psychological thing—we can make you an appointment to—"

"I'm fine!" Michiru snapped. "I just don't want to be touched."

"Did something happen…?" Megumi tried again, reaching her hand out again. "Did someone hurt you?"

"Drop it!" Michiru slapped Megumi's hand away with the back of her own, and the two stared in horror at the aftermath.

Michiru screamed in pain, staring at the now skinless backhand. Megumi screamed at the pile of bloody skin on the cushion in front of her. Blood gushed from the back of Michiru's hand, and she scrambled to get up from the couch.

Megumi, in shock, reached for Michiru again in confusion—to hold her still. _Don't move! It might happen again—_

She gripped Michiru by the shoulders, and the brunette screamed louder than the last time. Megumi pulled away immediately, realizing—it was from another's touch. Her skin fell off from human touch. Michiru, wide-eyed and panicked, ripped off her sweatshirt as she ran into the bathroom. Megumi watched in horror as the sweatshirt fell and more piles of skin fell out with it, slapping against the wood floor. It shattered like minced meat, breaking apart—thick enough… some muscle came with it.

She ran into the bathroom after Michiru. She found her kneeling beside the bath, yanking the faucet in desperation. Next to her, on the toilet, were bandages—the same, bloody brand that wrapped her arms and torso. The water gushed out of the faucet, roaring against the porcelain floor of the tub, and Michiru began laughing hysterically.

"This is a nightmare—" she cackled, wide-eyed as she stared into the tub, watching the water spray from the floor and around the edges. She reached her hand into the water to scoop it up and pour on her fresh wounds. "This is a nightmare. A long nightmare. Why can't I wake up?"

Megumi watched as fresh blood spilled from the new wounds—the blood from the back of her hand mixing into the rushing water. Michiru continued laughing in disbelief, washing her wounds as she cried.

Megumi looked down to her blood-stained hand—where Michiru had slapped her away.

Had she listened… She looked back to the hysterical girl, who was now crawling into the tub frantically. Wild eyes searched for something in the water as quick hands continued their work.

"I'll wake up soon!" she laughed, throwing her head back and yelling at the ceiling. "I'll wake up soon!"

Even amidst all the noise from Michiru, Megumi could still make out the muffled laughter from in the apartment. The similar snickers that plagued her echoed from the empty living room, carried themselves to the bathroom.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 ***** _Donburi_ is a rice bowl dish consisting of meats, vegetables, etc. cooked together and served over rice.

 ****** _Karume-yaki_ is sometimes called a Japanese meringue. It's like a cross between a honeycomb and meringue. It's grilled caramel mixed into the ingredients sometimes made for meringues.


	7. VII

**VII. THE SINGING SEA.**

* * *

She stood outside the hospital room, too scared to take another step closer. The door was shut tight; she wasn't sure if she could stomach stepping into Michiru's line of sight yet. Guilt ate away at her; had she just listened, they wouldn't be here.

Well… they would, but it wouldn't have been by Megumi's hands, at least.

With a deep breath, she straightened her posture and puffed out her chest. Michiru needed her! She turned to ask one of the nurses for a quarantine suit… but slunk away. Dejected, she sat on one of the waiting benches in the hall instead.

Holding her face in her hands, she let out a shaky breath. The cold hallway was relatively quiet. She was close to the nursing station, but not enough so that she could hear their conversations. She was tempted to listen to the faint rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor in one of the nearby rooms, but knew she couldn't afford yet another compulsion. Not when she had been doing so well lately, at least.

Because she knew in hard times, one little coping mechanism could become a compulsion for years to come. Better to focus on something she wasn't likely to hear again—hopefully. Fear washed over her like a tidal wave, striking her skin cold—and then hot immediately after.

Who was next?

She and Yamato were left unscathed, but that didn't mean they were done with Kenji and Michiru yet. How far was the woman planning on taking this?

"Hey." The voice Megumi relished hearing on the phone earlier came from above.

Megumi's gaze shot up from the sterile floor to the woman standing in front of her. She felt herself smile, glad Shizuru was here with her now.

"Sorry." Shizuru gave an apologetic smile before sitting next to her. "My last client was a handful."

Megumi shook her head. "It's fine. I'm just glad you're here n—"

"Megu!" The baritone, masculine voice she knew well came from down the hall. She looked to find her ex-lover running towards them. "Where is she? What happened?"

He was out of breath by the time he stopped in front of them.

"She's quarantined," Megumi replied, earning her a look from Yamato that could be read as: _well fucking obviously_. "I—I don't know. Her skin is falling off in chunks."

"Wh—What does that mean…?" He began heading for the quarantined room, only to stop at the door in hopes of looking through the small window.

"I don't know, Yamato!" Megumi shot up from her seat, finding her voice rising. "Maybe if you were around at all, you would!"

Shizuru was between the two of them before Yamato could return the favor, already having marched up to Megumi.

"It's been a hard week, I know." Shizuru's calm voice was diffusing for Megumi, but the opposite for Yamato. "I know it's scary, and stressful, but you can't take it out on each other. Neither of you are at fault here."

"Why are you even here?" Yamato spat, turning on Shizuru without a second thought. "Who even _are_ you?"

"I'm sure it's hard to remember under all the stress," Shizuru replied calmly, despite the flippant atmosphere surrounding her tone. "But we've been introduced before."

Yamato's nostrils flared, his lower right eyelid twitched, and he sniffed in defiance. "Right. Forgot."

"Excuse me." A nurse then inserted herself into their circle. Her brown doe eyes flickered between each of the three. "Are any of you related to the patient Maruyama?"

Megumi shook her head, thankful neither of the two next to her would keep the fight going in front of the nurse. "No, her parents are flying in from Nagasaki. They'll be here in the morning."

"I understand you're worried, but I'm going to have to ask you to wait quietly while outside the room," she said with a faux-sympathetic smile. Megumi wondered how many hysterical patients she'd dealt with before. "Otherwise I can have security escort you all to wait in the emergency room's waiting room."

"I think we can manage that, can't we?" Shizuru gave a pointed look to Yamato, who bristled.

"Yeah. Sorry," he replied, turning his gaze on the nurse to make a point to Shizuru. She wouldn't get an apology if her life depended on it.

The nurse took her leave, heading to the elevator. Megumi took a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly before turning back to Yamato.

"Are you staying?" she asked.

He made a face as if to say ' _no fucking shit_ ' but controlled himself. "Yes."

There was a long bout of silence before Megumi replied. "I'll go check on Kenji, then. In Michiru's stead."

Yamato moved past Shizuru, and then Megumi, and sat on the waiting bench where they once were. "Alright. I'll wait on an update for Michiru."

Shizuru's hand found its way to Megumi's shoulder, and Megumi turned back to the brunette with a small, appreciative smile. The two girls headed down the hallway to the elevator, and perhaps Megumi didn't feel the eyes burning into her back, but Shizuru did.

She knew they were Yamato's, as no youkai dared step foot near her. Michiru's room, though, was practically oozing with youki. Michiru hadn't come across some flesh eating bacteria or disease, that was sure—even if it was what the doctor's may have feared. Youkai had gotten hold of her and their presence poisoned her. Whether it was a particular talent they held from their species, she wasn't sure. It may have been from the toxicity of just being exposed to too much youki, in all honesty.

Shizuru wasn't sure about the how, but she knew who was behind it. They all did. Even Yamato—even if he didn't want to admit it, for whatever reason. As the elevator doors swished open, Shizuru sent a harsh glance back at Yamato, who was already watching her with one of his own. She held her gaze with him as she stepped into the elevator, asserting her presence in Megumi's life.

* * *

 **PREFECTURAL HOSPITAL ROOM 304**

"He's defensive," Shizuru noted, sitting in the chair across from Megumi.

"Yeah, Yamato gets like that," Megumi replied, leaning on Kenji's bedside and closing her eyes. The heart monitor's rhythm was soothing. She decided she felt no fear in listening to it, counting the beeps in the back of her head. With Shizuru here, she had no reason to fear the consequences. "He's always defensive, about any and everything."

"Do you think he knows?" Shizuru asked.

Megumi, with heavy lids, opened her eyes to look at Shizuru curiously. "About what?"

 _Us?_

The thought passed through her head so effortlessly she became flustered at herself. Megumi looked away from Shizuru, back to Kenji's chest as it rose and fell softly. What did she mean _them?_ There was no them! She looked back to Shizuru, who stared at her patiently.

…Was there?

She surprised herself—sure, she found some of the girls attractive back in junior high. She never thought much of it. When she was particularly close to another girl—immediately she was dubbed a "best friend." Nights and time they spent together, much like she spent with Shizuru, were passed off as something they did as best friends.

That's what Shizuru was becoming, right? A best friend. _Another_ best friend. Besides, Shizuru probably had her eye on a suave man. A calm and collected business man, with questionable morals that made him soar to great status in his field, that made him that much more alluring.

But for some reason, that thought sent a sharp pain through Megumi's chest.

Unfortunately, now was not the time to ask something like that. She chided herself for even thinking about it in this situation.

"Know what?" Megumi asked finally, turning her gaze back to Kenji so her eyes didn't betray her.

"What's happening," she replied.

With furrowed brows, Megumi looked back to the brunette. Now, all her previous flusters were behind her. Shizuru couldn't possibly know, could she? How could she?

"Do _you?"_ Megumi asked.

"I have a hunch," Shizuru replied.

Megumi's pout turned to a frown, but before she could say anything, the nurse from earlier came in Kenji's room. The smile was sympathetic this time, truly. She tucked a short lock of black hair behind her ear, her finger brushing against her soft pink nurse's cap as she did so, pushing it from its perched place.

"You again." Shizuru gave a wry smile as the nurse adjusted her cap.

"Yes. Unfortunately, visiting hours are past done," she replied, brown eyes darting between the two.

Megumi looked back to Kenji, who wasn't even aware he'd be alone again soon. She felt a wave of pity, and then a striking pang of guilt and shame for thinking that next.

"I can let you stay for a while longer," the nurse sighed, her voice understanding. "But you have to sneak out before my shift is over."

Gathering her coat, Shizuru flashed Megumi a confident smile. "Call me if you need anything, Megu."

Megumi stared at Shizuru, wide-eyed, as her nerves fluttered in her stomach and cheeks. "R—right."

As Shizuru disappeared from the room, the nurse watched her leave with a small smirk. Turning back to Megumi, she gave the black haired girl a mischievous grin.

"She knows what she's about, doesn't she?" The words sent Megumi's blood rushing to her face.

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

A heavy, dull pain flourished in his upper back. It centered between his shoulder blades; a sharp pang with every miniscule movement. He coughed, sparking the pain not only in his back, but in his head and the back of his throat as well.

He cursed and blinked a few times, wondering if he'd gone blind. No, it was just dark…

Cautious and slow, he moved his hand around from where he lay, feeling for his flashlight.

How long had he been out? No way to tell time. Didn't carry a watch.

His hand wrapped around the rubber laced plastic, and he pulled it close to him. It was off. He pressed the little button on the side, no light. Again, no light. Again… again… Fuck.

With a groan, he set the flashlight next to him and pushed himself upright. He remembered falling, but he was alive, so then... it must not have been too far a fall. No broken limbs…?

He moved his legs and arms, and found that aside from the regular aches that would come with a fall, nothing was broken or sprained. With another groan, he began feeling the ground around him, wondering if he hit another cliff or the ground.

His heart skipped a beat when his fingers ran over a ledge. He reached for the flashlight again and hit the head a few times in hopes of rattling the batteries or bulbs or whatever. Just fucking work, man.

Sparks of light flickered, but didn't return after a couple more pounds against his palm. Thoroughly pissed now, he slammed the flashlight against the ground and it flickered to life. It stayed.

It flickered over and over, died every few seconds, but always came back. He looked over the ledge with the flashlight, hoping to see ground, but no such luck. A black abyss. He looked behind him for a loose rock or something, and found a sizable chunk to chuck over the cliff.

He listened for the impact. He could have sworn he heard something. Faintly. And faintly was better than nothing at all.

He shone the light up above him to see how far he'd fallen. There was a dent in the light. He shone the light on the cliff's wall, and though it was rocky, there wasn't much to grab onto and use to climb with.

An angry groan this time, he lay back on the ground in thought. To climb or to jump?

"Yamato?" he called, but there was no reply.

… To climb or to jump?

* * *

 **PREFECTURAL HOSPITAL ROOM 304**

Megumi awoke with a groan, feeling a particular stiffness in her back as she moved her head from her arms. She'd fallen asleep at Kenji's bedside. The room was dark, and she was alone. Confused, she looked to the clock on the wall across from Kenji's bed.

Two-thirty in the morning… Shizuru left already, she remembered.

The nurse must have turned off the light, she thought to herself as she yawned. She pushed herself from the side of the bed and stood upright, stretching towards the ceiling. With a small groan of pleasure at the dispersing tension, she meandered her way to the whiteboard that hung a foot or so under clock.

The nurse's shift would be over in another hour, she read the erasable marker. She had to sneak out soon. She wondered if Yamato was also shooed away by the staff.

The rustling of fabric and wires, soft though they were, caught her attention. She looked back to see Kenji sitting upright. Shocked, she stuttered at the sight.

"Y—you're awake?!" she gasped, stumbling over herself as she ran back to his side.

His eyes were dazed, mouth hung open with the breathing tube still wedged inside. He didn't respond.

"Can…can you hear me?" she asked, leaning towards him. His eyes weren't moving. She didn't know what to make of this. "Kenji?"

She moved to get one of the staff, but paused as she remembered she wasn't supposed to be here… She could get in trouble. They needed to know Kenji was—

A sharp pain flourished in the back of her head as she was yanked back by her hair. Kenji's free hand wrapped all the way around her neck, squeezing with all the strength he could muster.

He moved from his spot, forcing Megumi back into the chair she'd slept in as he pressed himself against her to lock her in place. Her mind went blank, unsure of how to process it all. Panicked, her heart beat faster, furiously in hopes of finding air. She opened her mouth to force a gasp, but found that too was futile.

Her hands flared out around her. Unable to find purchase, she managed to find some control over herself. Planting them on Kenji's chest, she struggled to shove him off her. His grip, strong though it was, was pried off her as she found it in her to use her legs to help kick him off. His nails scraped her neck as he flew back on the bed.

Coughing, blood sprayed from his open mouth in a cloudy mist. Scrambling, unable to think straight, Megumi fell off the chair and managed to crawl away, gasping. Dizzy, lightheaded, tunnel vision taking over, she grabbed the bed's footboard and hauled herself up.

That couldn't be Kenji. Kenji would never lay a hand on her.

Stumbling to the door, she looked back as Kenji pushed himself off the bed and began pulling every wire and IV from his body. He limped after her, eyes lifeless and yet somehow, still, completely transfixed on her.

Practically flinging herself into the hallway, she used the wall as leverage to keep herself steady as she searched for someone—anyone—to detain him. Because that wasn't Kenji—Kenji would never…

Was he possessed? Had they really gone that far to torment them? Wasn't putting him in a coma enough?

Tunnel vision was leaving, as she was able to breathe again. But the disorientation, the shock, kept her frazzled enough to stare at the empty nurse's station in shock. She ran into the counter, almost throwing herself over it in search of someone behind it.

There was, but of course, their face was planted into their keyboard in front of the computer they sat at. A hoarse cackle erupted from next to her, but when she turned to find the source, there was no one there. No time to check if they were alive; she forced her legs to carry her to the elevator.

Maybe Yamato was still here; she needed to get him out of here too.

She looked over her shoulder when she pressed the call button for the elevator, finding Kenji stumbling along at a speed he shouldn't have been able to manage in his condition. She slapped the down button over and over, staring up at the glowing floor numbers. Slowly they would illuminate, and then dull again.

She looked to Kenji as he passed the nurses station. She may not be able to make it. She'd have to take the stairs—the doors trudged open. She slipped inside, finding the floor number Yamato was last on before stabbing the close door button with her thumb repeatedly.

They began closing, but Kenji was nowhere in sight. She let out a small sigh. It'd take him a while to get to the other floor, if at all. She was safe.

Yamato wouldn't believe her. She touched her neck, feeling the flecks of skin and faint wetness from where he'd scratched her.

A grunt caught her attention, and her eyes snapped up to find Kenji lunging to the doors just before they closed. They caught his hand and opened. Cursing under her breath, she backed away as he stumbled in and reached for her throat once more.

She ducked away from his grab and leapt for the doors before they closed again, but his hand caught her hair. Yanking her back, she turned around and lay her palm across his face. He staggered, but only barely. His free hand found its way around her neck again, and the one in her hair moved to pummel her stomach.

She fell back, and Kenji used his weight to keep her pinned under him. The door's tried closing once more, catching on his knees as they rested around her smaller frame, before opening again. The same position as before in his room, Megumi thought better this time.

Still, his grip was strong, and he made sure to keep himself level upon her. Her lungs and face burned as her thoughts raced, free hands wailing on his ribs, legs kicking from underneath him. All the while, he breathed heavily, blood flowing out of his mouth in a slow but steady stream. It dripped from his chin to her face until finally, her fist moved to his head and clocked him right on the temple.

He faltered, groaning as he shifted off her. She lifted her leg up from under him and kicked him back into the elevator. Scrambling away from the doors, she watched as he couldn't orient himself on the floor. As she tried steadying her breathing and collecting herself, she watched the door close.

It was then she realized: if Yamato was still here, he'd be targeted too.

Coughing, she hurried to the stairs across the hall on weak knees. She had to hurry, or else he'd get to Yamato first—but her legs barely worked. Her vision was still fuzzy and dark. Her lungs still burned. Her throat ached.

All the while, she passed not a nurse or a doctor. She had no doubt the entire hospital was being played the same way Kenji was—somehow, someway. She didn't know whether to bother calling for help. Would that attract more? What if the other patients were possessed too?

She had to get out of here.

She practically fell down the stairs on the last two steps, her saving grace being the lucky catch she made on the railing. Steadying herself, she looked down the hallway. He wasn't there.

"Yamato?" she called, walking towards the room. Was Michiru okay? Would she be next? She couldn't leave Michiru to be tormented any more than she already had been, but Megumi couldn't fight this off much longer. "Yamato!"

No response. He must have left already.

She turned to leave but paused again. She knew Michiru would be next if she left… she couldn't do that. It was her fault Michiru was in the hospital in the first place.

But what could she do? Call someone?

Shizuru was the first to come to mind, but guilt swept over her. How could she even think to bring Shizuru into this? To take the blows Megumi so rightfully deserved?

The bridge of her nose burned; her eyes stung with tears. She was beside herself, unsure of what to do. Then the thought occurred: she could lock herself in Michiru's room. Keep the both of them safe.

With a deep breath, helping to clear her mind, she ran down the hallway. It occurred to her—in the silence of the floor—that she had yet to hear the elevator open. Which meant… She slowed, the realization dawning on her.

She heard the groan then and whipped around in time to dodge the lunging body. Kenji was getting worse by the second, as more and more blood began spilling from his mouth. He stumbled to the floor, and a thick crack could be heard as his leg twisted at the knee underneath him.

"Kenji!" she tried calling to him as she backed away, hoping that she'd reach him. It was all she hadn't tried. Beating him senseless obviously didn't work. "Kenji, please wake up!"

Then, a door opened. Megumi's eyes snapped to the room, finding Michiru wandering out of it, laughing softly to herself. The staff said she tried this before when they first left her alone, so they handcuffed her to her bed.

Obviously, the ghouls found that a problem, and took it upon themselves to free her. Was she lucid, or was she possessed too?

"Michiru?" she called.

Brown eyes wandered to Megumi and she let out a flippant laugh. "Have you been waiting out here the whole time?! How sweet. They won't let anyone visit me."

As lucid as she could be given the circumstances, Megumi supposed. Her eyes trained back on Kenji, who had already steadied himself on a broken leg.

"Kenji?!" Michiru gasped, a desperate smile on her face. "Kenji, you're awake?!"

"Stay there, Michiru!" Megumi snapped, trying to prep herself for sprinting past Kenji. "He's not awake!"

He leapt towards her again, and Megumi moved to dodge, ducking out of his grasp. If he fell again, maybe he wouldn't be able to move. She managed to maneuver around him without being grabbed, and ran towards Michiru's room—only to find the girl running to her fiancé!

"Michiru, no!" Megumi snapped as Michiru tried running past her. She stood in her way. "We need to get inside your room!"

"Kenji. Honey, talk to me," Michiru pleaded, shoving Megumi aside—and taking what skin was left on her forearms with it. The skin fell to the floor in a splatter, breaking apart as it hit the floor.

Megumi—unable to care anymore seeing as how Michiru didn't—grabbed the brunette by her bleeding arm and tried forcing her into the room.

"He's not himself, Michiru!" she cried as frustrated, fearful tears began filling her sight. "Let me explain in the room. Just come with me!"

Kenji, who now had both legs snapped, had already gotten up and somehow began moving. His body would fall apart at this rate. Megumi used what little strength she had left to pull Michiru back towards her room, but Kenji was already too close.

She shoved the brunette away from his reach as he attacked. His crooked wrist connected to Megumi's cheek as Michiru fell to the ground. Megumi stumbled back, bright flashes blinding her vision.

For the third time that night, his hands found their way around her throat, and his body atop hers. This time, she noted, he may actually succeed in snapping her windpipe. A raging headache flourished as her lungs and heart panicked yet again. Her mind went blank.

Her slippery, bloody hands found their way around his throat as she tried working her legs under him, hoping to kick him off. Her wrist, unlike his, wasn't broken, and she felt a small snap underneath her thumbs within a minute of pressure. A stream of blood poured out of his mouth onto her face as he gasped in pain. He lurched forward. She took the opportunity to slip her leg underneath him, and kicked her off him… for the third and last time that night.

She lay where she was, staring at Kenji's immobile, sprawled out body, as Michiru began crawling towards him. She picked his head up, fresh blood beginning to soak the bandages that wrapped her hands. She shook his head gently.

"Kenji?" she called, confused, as if she hadn't registered anything she witnessed. "Kenji, baby? Say something."

Megumi couldn't find it in her to move anymore as the tears spilled over.

"Say something, baby," Michiru cried, a dubious, disbelieving smile on her face. "You were just here. You were just awake." She buried her face in his, letting the skin peel off and blood pour over to litter his cheeks and neck. "Say something. Wake up. Wake up, Kenji."

She watched as tears spilled down Michiru's now ruined face, dipping into the exposed muscles and mixing with the blood. She felt her own tears pour out in waves as it all registered to her. Michiru shook him frantically, still crying his name, but he didn't stir. He wouldn't, Megumi knew. He wouldn't...

She choked out a sob, still unable to move, she joined Michiru's crying chorus.

"Wake up, Kenji. Please, wake up."


	8. VIII

**VIII. NIGHTCALL.**

* * *

It was an open-closed case. Security footage proved Megumi innocent, that her actions were done in self-defense. Unfortunately, Kenji's parents didn't care about the legalities. Shameful brown eyes kept to the ground at the funeral service, unable to even watch as a friend was lowered into the ground.

It was wildly out of custom, the funeral. Normally, bodies were cremated, but Kenji's mother came from America. She had begged her husband to not cremate him, and he obliged with some reluctance. The funeral home was accommodating for an extra price.

Megumi bowed to the family after Kenji's casket was buried, but neither parent looked at her. Instead, two pairs of cold, old eyes stared past her into the distance. Tightly pursed lips remained closed. They couldn't bear to let anymore shame fall upon them for openly scorning their son's murderer, who had no charges brought against her because of self-defense. Still numb, Megumi wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel. All she knew at the moment was she didn't feel anything. Dear god, did she want to.

Rain fell hard that morning, bouncing off the concrete and headstones and soaking the dirt into mud. Shizuru waited outside the cemetery for Megumi with an umbrella. She scanned the faces as they left the entrance, searching for the familiar sad and tired face.

Finally, her eyes landed upon Megumi clad in black. Megumi's black umbrella shielded Shizuru's prying eyes from gauging how bad off she was at the moment. Yamato stood in front of her, hands hovering around her arms in an attempt to console.

At least, that's what Shizuru thought he was trying to do. Their conversation was very different, truth be told.

"What do you mean 'marks'?" Megumi whispered, eyeing his arms with worry.

"Exactly what it means." Yamato whispered back, looking around nervously before lifting the sleeve of his black tux jacket above his wrist. A couple inches above his wrist lay a discolored imprint of a hand wrapping around his skin. "They're all over me. Some don't even look human…"

Timid fingers gently traced the imprint, feeling the indents in the skin and how it felt like smooth leather. Guilt crept up on her as her first thought was "I told you so!" but she tried convincing herself she wasn't a bad person because she didn't say it.

She wouldn't say it. There was no need to. Besides, he surely felt horrible already.

"Some of them don't even look human," he continued, unbuttoning his blouse. He tugged it aside to show the clawed, three-fingered hand print that covered the end of his neck and collar bone.

She hesitated, unsure of what to say. What if that phrase slipped out? Finally, she managed to speak. "How long has this been going on?"

He averted his gaze, lips pursing sheepishly as he buttoned up. "A while now."

"So…" Rage flashed through her; her face felt hot. "You made me feel like I was crazy on purpose?!" She controlled her voice, lowering it to a hiss at the end as she looked around to see nobody had paid attention. "You sat there and denied everything I said and made me feel like I was crazy!?"

"I'm sorry!" he hissed back. "But how the fuck do you think I felt, seeing these things? You think I wanted to admit this was happening?"

"That doesn't excuse—" Someone passed by behind her, clearing their throat. She whipped around to give the elderly couple that passed by the evilest glare she could muster in the moment before storming off.

"Megumi!" he whispered frantically, looking around to see who was paying attention—luckily, nobody else—before running after her. "Look, I'm sorry. I thought if I ignored it, it would go away."

She waited to step off cemetery grounds to whirl around on him. "We could have gone through that together—I wouldn't have had to deal with this alone and neither would you! Fuck you, Yamato!"

It made her wonder if Michiru and Kenji were hiding it too, if they were all suffering in silence. Why did they all do that? She was the only one who ever brought it up after that night and they all pretended like nothing was happening.

"Did you all help each other?" she seethed, closing the distance. "Was I the only one left out of that? Did you all—"

"Woah, woah." He backed away, bewildered, and yet somehow tired all the same. "There's that fucking paranoia again. No, we weren't _conspiring_ against you." He mocked quoted the word, holding himself back from rolling his eyes as he did so. "None of us talked about it, ever. Nobody wanted to remember that night, Megumi."

"Yeah, because leaving me alone was the best thing to do in that situation!" she scoffed, face burning, eyes stinging with tears. She turned to walk away for good, only to bump into someone. Her umbrella hit the ground and began sliding away from the wind.

The shock jolted her, seeing someone there that wasn't before—sneaked up on her—and she remembered the night with Kenji. She froze, breathe caught in her throat, as her vision went black. No thoughts, only anticipation. Hands around her neck? Again? When?

"Megumi."

She could see Kenji's face above her again, his mouth opening to spill blood onto her face.

"Megumi."

She jumped again, this time her vision coming back. The evening air was crisp and cold against her burning, flushed skin. She looked around, placing herself. Still at the cemetery—near it at least. She could see people leaving the grounds, pairs holding each other in remorse and comfort.

Comfort. The word sliced at her heart. It was something she was withheld, she remembered, as her eyes fell on Yamato. He didn't seem too pleased either, but his disgruntled gaze wasn't trained on Megumi.

"Megumi." The voice wasn't his, but it was very close, and it startled her again.

She jumped out of her skin, and almost off the wet cement ground as she turned to find someone standing in front of her. Who had been calling her name all this time? How many people were near her? As she gathered herself and her thoughts, she was able to recognize Shizuru.

Heart still racing, she steadied her breathing. "H—hey, Shizuru…"

"Oh, he's leaving," Shizuru noted blandly, watching Yamato's figure grow smaller down the street. He had picked up Megumi's umbrella and was using it for himself.

She couldn't bear to turn around again, she was already too disoriented from the other times. She felt like she'd been spinning for minutes. Besides, if she had to look at his face again she may snap.

"Were you two fighting?" Shizuru asked, bringing Megumi out of her angry thoughts.

She looked up to the brunette and forced a smile. "Well, n… Yeah." The smile faded. "We were."

"Was it about the woman?"

Megumi opened her mouth to reply but paused, shaken. "The _what?"_

"The woman," Shizuru said, resting the stem of her umbrella on her shoulder as she looked down at a confused Megumi. The rain began to pour harder now, bouncing off Megumi's hair and shoulders. She leaned the umbrella towards Megumi to shield her from getting any wetter. "I see her following you around sometimes."

Dumbfounded, Megumi could do nothing but stare at the woman in front of her.

"I saw her at your home," Shizuru continued.

"Is she here now?" Tears trickled down Megumi's face, mixing in with the rain droplets. She couldn't bear to look over her shoulder.

"No," Shizuru replied, giving a soft, reassuring smile. "I haven't seen her."

It was as if the rain washed away the fear that had just surged in Megumi, and doused her in anger. Maybe it was leftover, still directed at Yamato, but Megumi couldn't understand what was wrong with people.

"You knew?" Her voice was breaking. "You knew and you never said anything?"

The brunette didn't know what to say, but she knew her friend's hurt was rightfully felt. "I'm sorry. I was… gauging how bad it was, I suppose."

"Gauging?" Megumi's face contorted into something mixed with disgust and anger. "Gauging what? When I'd break?"

Shizuru remained calm, her voice trained. "Gauging if my presence alone would be enough to drive her away, or whether we needed to find another way to get rid of her."

Coffee brown eyes stared up in shock as Megumi found herself stepping back in surprise. "Wh…"

"I've dealt with spirits and… more, before," Shizuru explained, her voice soft enough to hold Megumi's tear-stained, flushed face on their own. For each step Megumi took back, Shizuru matched one of her own and followed her. "At first, I wasn't sure if you were aware of them—if you could see them. I wondered if I could make them go away without having to explain everything. But when I realized you knew of them, what they were, it was too late. I never got my chance."

Megumi's back pressed against the stone wall dividing the cemetery from the public road as Shizuru cornered her.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you," she continued. "You were scared, and you didn't want to be alone. But there's so much to explain, I didn't want to scare you with how much you may not know."

Megumi couldn't reply, and instead merely stared up at who she had thought was her friend.

"I can tell you about everything, but I'm worried it may be too much—"

Oh, now she could say something. "You could have asked!"

Shizuru remained calm in the face of Megumi's rage, which had spit threatening to fly out in specks. "And what if I asked, and you thought I was crazy?"

The angry young woman paused, caught in her tracks, completely unsure how to reply. She stuttered out the first thing that came to mind. "And what if I hadn't?"

But she knew. She knew even after the thought formed and even before it left her lips, that the cons to exposing herself to Megumi outweighed keeping quiet. But that didn't matter to Megumi. All she could feel was a whirlpool of emotions swirling around in her chest and head.

Why was everyone only thinking of themselves? Why was everyone leaving her alone to fend for herself? Why was she the one who had to fight Kenji last night? If she wasn't alone, would she have even had to go through that?

All the emptiness she had felt watching Kenji descend into the ground was replaced with far too many emotions now. It all was too much, and she didn't know if she would rather feeling nothing at all. They poured out much faster than they had in the last few minutes, and Shizuru quickly wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl. The umbrella fell to the ground, landing softly in a puddle at their feet.

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

Kenji had fallen off a cliff. And this damn cave wasn't even finished being explored. Who knew how deep this cave even went?

Yamato's past of being the star baseball player in his high school, and thus giving him a great reservoir of stamina, eluded him as he sprinted blindly in the darkness. He had to find one of the girls. Get to the car. Find some cables or rope to send down the cliff. See if Kenji was alive.

But every so often he screamed for Megu and Michiru, and his pleas went unanswered.

This was all fun and games until Kenji's dumbass fell off a fucking cliff.

"Megu!" he called again, slowing to catch his breath. Again, he called her name, this time only louder. _"Megumi!"_

Cool air brushed by the skin of his neck, and then came the prickly ice chill. Cold—freezing, actually—touched him, caressed him. A sultry voice, like flannel on a cold autumn's day, fluttered in his ear.

"Nobody can help you now, Yamato."

An unfamiliar voice. The ghost-woman? No, how could it be? He could feel the hands on his neck, the fingertips brushing gently against his Adam's apple. But did he dare look over his shoulder to find out? No way could either of the girls change their voice like this. Michiru had this tomboyish flare in her throat. It was joyful and cheery enough to make even the happiest person on Earth cringe sometimes. It was a stark contrast to her magazine cover worthy beauty.

Megumi's was the voice of a girl who sang too loudly when she couldn't sing to save her life—and Yamato thought that in the most endearing way one could. It was quirky, youthful, and powerful when accompanied with a laugh.

And that was probably one of his favorite things about her: her laugh.

He knew her voice inside and out, listened to it even when it was off-key and –pitch and singing along with her favorite songs.

And this wasn't her.

So else who on God's green Earth could be down in this hell-hole of a cave?

Before he could muster the courage to look over his shoulder, the cold fingertips pressed on his skin, and then the palms followed. The touch was seductive, despite the off-putting chill. It turned malicious as something sharp pierced his neck—right in the jugular.

He jerked away, swinging his arm back to elbow his assailant. He tumbled back, falling, only to be met with a heavy black mass on top of him. It sat on his stomach, and he gripped at the silhouette of slender arms that lunged at him.

Firm hands gripped his neck, thumbs pressing on his windpipe to snap it. He swung at the silhouette's head, only to watch his fist fly straight through it. Scrambling, feeling the pressure on his throat, facing burning in pain, his hands worked on the silhouette's. Though this time, he could feel them, they were locked in place.

He couldn't breathe. His head pounded; his chest burned.

Megumi was right. The vengeful bitch _was_ real, and she was livid.

* * *

 **KITAYAMA CEMETERY**

He hunched over her, hands around her neck. His breath was hot against her face, and her throat and eyes burned as she clawed at his fingers. It was like she couldn't move. The itchy, damp grass beneath her became all she could feel, but her breathing didn't return.

And then she was on top of him, her thumbs pressing into his windpipe like she remembered. The snap came next, and she looked above his head to see his small name plaque planted in the ground.

He was gone from under her. Looking around, she watched the evil little ghouls that had been tormenting her dragging his lifeless body away, into the cemetery's small forest. She found herself scrambling to get up, but couldn't move fast enough. Her legs were heavy; she felt like she was moving in water.

She could never catch up to them, but they always stayed in sight. They dragged him to the woman, her dark sockets boring into her as she stood, waiting. Chills crawled down her spine as she stopped running. The woman moved forward, hovering over Kenji's body and darting straight towards her—

She gasped, shooting upright in her bed. Her damp hair clung to the back of her sweat-beaded neck and around her face. She looked around her room, settling in its familiarity. Her heart beat frantically still, anxiety high as she looked around her room with wide eyes.

"It was a dream," she mumbled to herself as Tobio crawled over her legs, purring. She ran her hand over his freshly cleaned fur. "Right?"

He gave a soft chirp and curled into a ball between her legs, and she fell back onto her pillow with a sigh. Work, visit Michiru, and then talk to Shizuru about her plans for solving this. She wanted to talk about fixing this sooner than later, and they could do some of it at work.

So if she could visit Michiru beforehand…

She hadn't been by the hospital in the past couple of days because of the funeral. She didn't know if Michiru would even want to see her. But Michiru—and her parents, who had shacked up at Michiru's apartment—agreed to the visit. The brunette even seemed excited to see her friend.

She glanced to the clock and figured she could make it work. She'd be pushing it, but she'd make it work. After readying herself, she spent her last few minutes in the kitchen pouring Tobio's measured amount of food into his bowl. Setting the measuring cup back into the large bag of cat food, she closed the pantry door behind her.

Kenji stood in front of the dining room table, head cocked at a sickly angle. Just as she last saw him, blood covered his mouth, dripped all down his chin and neck. Megumi leapt back in fright, a shrill scream ripping at her throat as she fell back into the door.

He was gone in the blink of an eye. She surely hadn't blinked, no, her eyes were far too strained on where he had been to ever think about doing such a thing. Her sight darted about the kitchen, heart beating in her throat as blood rushed around in her ears. He was gone.

Was it them? Were they playing another horrible trick on her? Or was Kenji haunting her now too? She wouldn't blame him if he was… But maybe, just maybe, it was all the guilt eating at her. She didn't know which would be worse.

If she could get to Shizuru, she'd be fine…

Blinking away the wetness creeping around her eyes, she scrambled off the floor and lunged for her purse on the table. Double checking Tobio was okay, she left in a hurry. At the hospital, she wasn't allowed to see Michiru in her room.

All known flesh eating bacteria and viruses were ruled out. To doctors and researchers, though, that didn't mean there wasn't a new super strain lurking in Michiru's body. They moved her to another floor in a special room, where she could talk to Megumi through a microphone. Megumi personally felt like she was visiting Michiru in prison. Of course, she couldn't say anything about how wrong the doctors' were in their search efforts.

"How are you feeling?" Megumi smiled at her friend, who adorned bandages all over her body now. "Did you sleep well?"

She couldn't see Michiru's lips through the bandages, but she was able to see the indent of her frown forming. "I dreamt of Kenji."

Megumi shivered at the thought of seeing Kenji again, but couldn't think of anything to say. She didn't know how Michiru was taking the death—in fact, she hadn't thought about it. What if Michiru only agreed to the visit to lash out at her? She couldn't entirely blame Michiru if the girl wanted to, but in her own defense, it was honestly in self-defense… wasn't it?

Michiru had enough to say for the both of them. "He hasn't shown up in days! I bet you he's with that tramp—"

"The—who?" Megumi's head was practically spinning off her neck. Was there an affair she didn't know about? "What?"

"I saw it," she seethed, bandaged hands slapping against the window as she leaned closer to Megumi. "I saw her riding him. She stared at me, smiling."

"Who—what?" Megumi couldn't wrap her head around anything the delusional young woman was saying. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

"It was a dream. A sign." She nodded earnestly, convinced it was real. "It was a dream to tell me where he was. He left me. He doesn't think I'm beautiful anymore, and left me. That's why he hasn't shown up in days."

Did… did Michiru not remember?

A hand gripped Megumi's shoulder, sending her into shock again as she jolted out of her chair in front of the window. Fortunately, this time, it was only Michiru's mother.

"I'm sorry, Megumi," Mrs. Maruyama whispered as Michiru was still banging on the window, yelling about Kenji's betrayal with a growing, colorful vocabulary. The thin, tall woman inched towards Megumi and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "They say she has… forgotten everything about the night, and some things before it too." Megumi's heart sunk to her stomach. "They believe she may also be having an acute psychotic reaction. Witnessing Kenji's death… and then her skin…"

"I'm sorry." Megumi nodded, bowing. "I understand, I…"

"No, I didn't mean it was your fault, dear. I saw the tapes, I—" Mrs. Maruyama reached out after Megumi as she took off, running to the elevator.

It was in self-defense, right? She didn't take her anger out on Kenji, right? She continued slapping the elevator's "close door" button even after it closed. She wished she was the one to go, the one whose neck snapped. At least this all would be over for her. Now, all she could think was to get to the salon.

The elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors swished open, revealing a familiar face on the other end. Unfortunately, it wasn't the face she wanted to see most.

The first words out of his mouth shook Megumi visibly. Quiet, but certain. "They're taking Kenji's body."

She looked up to Yamato, who stood on the other side of the elevator's threshold with a tired face, expressionless. This time, the hand prints were more visible, peaking over his collar and threatening to crawl up to his chin.

"You saw it too, right?" he asked. "The dream. His ghost."

Her mouth hung open, unsure of how to work—to speak, or to close.

He spoke enough for the both of them. "They're not done with him yet. We need to help him."


	9. IX

**IX. GRAVEYARD GIRL.**

* * *

It bothered her to know the dream wasn't her guilt eating at her, but at the same time she was relieved. She ignored Yamato, to his surprise, and he followed her out of the hospital.

"Aren't you visiting Michiru?" Megumi asked, not even bothering to turn around to speak to him. She continued off the hospital grounds.

"Yeah, but I needed to speak with you first," he replied, practically on her heels.

He used the fact she wouldn't look at him anymore to break up with her, because those ghouls were always hovering around him. And now that things were getting bad for him—how things had been the entire time for her—he wanted company? Help? He could go fuck himself for all she cared.

"After I say this, you'll have a better time talking to a wall," she said, hiking her purse up her shoulder and picking up speed.

"Look, they should have cremated him!" Yamato hissed after her, eyes darting around the people they walked past until they confidently landed on her. He spoke slightly louder as she walked even faster. "It's only been a couple days. Doesn't that mean he's fresh for possession?"

She rolled her eyes. So he finally picked up one of her grandma's books, huh? Now he was a believer.

"Megu," he hissed. At this point she may as well have been jogging. Why couldn't he take a hint? "You've been having the dreams too, haven't you? You've seen his soul around. I know you have. I have too. It's a sign."

She began slowing, thinking about her night and the incident in the kitchen. She had a bad feeling about it all, even if it was just guilt. But what was she supposed to do? Cremate him herself?

"Listen." He grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. She struggled to pull away, but his grip was tight. He let her go easily, stepping back as she gave him a harsh look. "Tonight. I'm going to fix it. Meet me at the cemetery."

With that, he left. She stood still, watching him disappear down the street. His words bounced around in her head, letting the fear from this morning bubble in the pit of her stomach. She hurried to Shizuru.

"Even if they did possess him, he's six feet under," Shizuru replied calmly. She swept up the chunks of black hair her customer left under the chair. "He can bust through the coffin, sure, but digging through six feet of solid dirt? That's a task."

"I've been seeing his ghost," Megumi mumbled, organizing her nail polish collection at her desk. "And I had a dream last night."

"It would probably be best to not go to the cemetery, though," she said. "It could be a ploy of some sort."

"Yamato is convinced he needs to do something about Kenji's body."

"He shouldn't." Shizuru was stern, sending Megumi a heavy look. "And while you should try to keep him from going, don't put yourself at risk to keep him from going either."

'Easier said than done' was Megumi's first thought. But as she remembered everything Yamato had put her through, she realized it would be easily done. Megumi hummed in response, twisting the cap on one of her blue nail polishes.

"I asked someone what they think we should do." Shizuru walked by the slouching girl towards the trash can. "Even if we got rid of her, her will would live on. Those youkai she has under her control will likely continue haunting you all."

Megumi leaned onto her desk with a heavy sigh. "Of course not… Why would it be that easy?"

Shizuru placed her hand on the girl's back and rubbing it gently. "It'll be fine. We just need to research the woman, and when she died. Maybe if we can find out why she's trapped in this realm still, we can help her pass on."

"Her face is mutilated beyond repair." Megumi's voice dropped to a whisper. "I wouldn't be able to recognize her if we found something."

Shizuru's other hand found its way to her back, and they moved up to her shoulder's to give a soft squeeze. "It'll be fine. You know she was murdered. Not many murders take place in Irima's Cave."

Strong hands worked Megumi's shoulders, fingers digging into the muscles to loosen them. She let out a relaxed sigh, soothed. She welcomed the feeling of content that Shizuru was cultivating between them.

"Let's try…" She found herself smiling.

There was hope. Shizuru had given her hope. It was such a foreign concept the past couple of months, but Shizuru was slowly building it back up. She had held onto it for Megumi, and was slowly handing bits of it to her.

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

The bleeding wouldn't stop. It wasn't a big cut, but it was deep. It stung.

Megumi wanted to curl into a ball, lie on the ground, and cry. She didn't know how to get out of this wretched place. It would have been safer to stay put in the beginning, but it was far too late for that. She'd continued walking downwards, and had finally hit flatland. Michiru's screams had stopped a while ago.

Her eyes had adjusted long ago but it was still so hard to make out shapes in the tunnels. She ran her not bleeding hand against the wall as she walked.

She wanted to call Michiru's name again, but something was telling her not to. What if something else was down here? Her screams would attract not just Michiru but…

But then, she thought, she should turn back. At the same time, she'd feel horrible for leaving her friend down here.

As she hesitated, debating, she swore she could have heard breathing in her ear. She froze, unsure of what to do, and was rammed into by some moving force. The two tumbled to the ground, and Megumi thrashed wildly at the person atop her.

They were solid, gasping, and moving frantically to deflect her blows.

A short scream left the person's mouth, and Megumi recognized it.

"It's—it's me!" Megumi gasped, trying to move out from under Michiru. "It's me. Michiru, it's me."

"Megu?" she breathed hoarsely, untangling herself from her friend. "Oh, thank God."

"What did you see?" Megumi asked, reaching for the wall to help her stand up. "Why were you screaming?"

"I—I don't know." She shook her head. "It was so dark. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me."

"Let's get out of here." Michiru grabbed onto Megumi's arm to help herself up. "Let's go upwards. Maybe we'll find the guys along the way."

"Ideally," Michiru scoffed, voice shaking slightly still. "Nice knowing them if not."

The two walked in silence, clutching each other's hands enough to threaten cutting off blood flow. The scuffing of their shoes began playing tricks on their ears—which is what they were hoping, at this point. Neither of them wanted to turn around to make sure.

To be fair, they thought, it would be hard to even see anything. The dark would just play tricks on their minds.

It was like a rat scurrying behind them—a very large, very heavy rat…

The two began picking up speed, white-knuckling each other's hand. The scurrying picked up pace as well. They weren't just imagining it. There was more than one thing lurking in this hellhole of a cave.

Megumi's better judgment betrayed her and she looked over her shoulder. Whatever they were—there was more than one. On all fours, she could only make out their silhouettes in the darkness. Their shapes eerily resembled that of a human, but it crawled like a spider on the run.

A shriek left Megumi's mouths as her teeth clenched together. "Run!"

She dragged Michiru with her, who immediately trusted her friend and began sprinting. Unfortunately, the things behind them could run just as fast on all fours.

Lungs burning, legs weak, Megumi wondered if she could keep this up for long. The creatures behind her reassured her she wouldn't have to, though, as one latched onto her ankle. It pulled her leg back, and she fell face first into the harsh, rocky ground below.

Screaming for help, she couldn't look to see if Michiru had even stopped to check on her. Flashes of pain lit up around her body as she was dragged along. She could feel thin streams of blood from the cuts and scratches pouring along her arms as she thrashed around.

But she could only flail wildly as she was dragged along.

* * *

 **THE IJIRI HOUSEHOLD**

Megumi clutched the copies she made of the newspaper articles close to her chest after she shut her front door. She had just spent the evening with Shizuru at the library. They surfed thru microfiche machines for articles about murders in Irima's Cave. Despite the grim readings, Megumi was strangely elated that Shizuru was just with her.

Everything felt normal with her. No ghouls, no ghosts. Her favorite part of it all was when they didn't even talk about her situation. It almost felt like a… date.

She felt her cheeks burning, and she quickly took off her shoes and hurried to the kitchen. She set the copies on the western style dinner table as she went to brew a cup of tea. Tobio had jumped up to inspect what new toy she'd brought home for him.

"Shoo," she said quietly, waving her hand at him as he sniffed the papers. He looked at her and then put his nose in the air before hopping off the table. "No toys for you. Go ruin the sofa again."

Despite his sulking, he returned to sit in her lap after she'd poured herself a hot cup. She petted him as she flipped through the papers. None of these women were identified. All were too brutalized. She began to wonder if there was a serial killer, but the modus operandi for each brutalization was different.

Only one's body was found inside Irima's Cave.

The phone ringing brought her out of her train of thought. Her heart jumped in excitement. Shizuru, maybe?

Tobio hopped off her lap as she stood and skipped to the phone. "Hello?"

"I'm at the cemetery. Get over here." Yamato.

Her shoulders slumped and the anger in her chest returned. "No, that's a trap and you damn well know it is."

His voice sounded course, as if the wind was blowing in the receiver with his every breath. It was far too loud, and she moved the phone away from her ear as he talked. "And you're going to let them take his body? He deserves more than that, Megu."

"They can't get his body out of there!" she snapped. "He's six feet under."

"He deserves more than what they're going to do to him and you know it, Megumi."

Tears burned her eyes and threatened to spill over as the rage welled up and overflowed. "Fuck you, Yamato! What fucking nerve—"

"You know we need to do this, Megu. Get over here."

"No. Kill yourself on your own."

He hadn't heard her reply, because he'd already hung up on her. The silence on the other end was louder than the crackling she'd heard with his voice.

She slammed the phone back in its holder and stormed up to her room. Throwing herself on her bed, she grabbed a pillow to scream. Surprisingly, she didn't have the energy to. She only felt empty at his words.

How could he say that to her? How could he bring up what she had done—had to do to survive?

But… did she really? The least she could do was…

She found herself in front of the cemetery gates. She'd have to hop the fence. What was she, sixteen? …Clearly. She landed on the other side of the gate was a hefty oof and brushed the dust off her pants and heavy coat. It was severely windy, which gave her comfort that it was actually Yamato on the other end of the phone and not a trap.

She would convince him to leave. She wasn't helping with this. She'd beat him senseless with the shovel he brought if she had to. At least, that's what she told herself. Instead, when she stumbled upon Yamato, she found herself digging as well.

She hated herself for backing out on her plan, but the guilt was eating at her. She killed Kenji and then she was going to let them take over his body? Yamato was right. She had to draw the line somewhere. If she could do this before they got to him, things would be fine.

Finally, her shovel hit wood.

"We're here," she breathed.

Yamato continued digging on his end. She picked up the large flashlight and looked at the design on the coffin again. Her heart hurt to see the floral engraving along the top.

"Okay, let's open it." Yamato's voice was far away.

Megumi stared down at the coffin, watching as tiny circles appeared on the surface. Rain. She looked up, blinking, to find the pitch black sky. With a sigh, she set the flashlight at the edge of the grass above them, angling it back inside the hole.

She moved out of the way as Yamato dug the shovel into the side of the coffin to force it open. Rain began pouring down hard as Megumi moved to Yamato's side to help push it open with her shovel.

Megumi's eyes immediately landed on Kenji's embalmed corpse. He was so still, so quiet, so pale. It bothered her, to see him this way.

"How…" she breathed. "How are we doing this?"

Yamato hiked up his now muddy shovel.

"You didn't think to buy something like a _saw_ while you bought these?" she gaped.

"I didn't buy these. I've had them," he retorted and then gestured to the body. He used his foot to nudge at Kenji's left arm. "Spread the limbs out as far as you can in this cramped thing and _swing."_

She didn't have time to protest since he'd already started hacking at the arm. Luckily, there was no blood splatter. Instead, it poured out slowly, thick and clumpy—almost like cottage cheese. She felt her stomach churning at the sight, and she quickly turned away.

"We need to get rid of the limbs and head," Yamato grunted with each swing. "Dismember him. That way there's no reason for them to use him. They won't be able to."

She couldn't watch; her stomach kept churning at the sounds alone.

"Can we…" Megumi choked back the tears ready to fall. "Can we take a break? Can we do this in a few minutes?"

There wasn't another grunt or the sound of the shovel hitting soft, dull flesh.

"Yeah… yeah. Let's wait a minute."

The two climbed out of the grave and sat at the edge of the hole as rain poured down upon them. Their legs dangled off the edge of the grave as they stared down at Kenji and his mutilated arm. It was still hanging on. Chunky blood slowly poured out of the wound.

She looked up to the sky and closed her eyes as rain pelted her face. Yamato followed suit. They sat in silence for a while.

"Why did this happen?" she asked, but they both knew why. "Why did things get this bad?"

"Because we all wanted to pretend it never happened," he responded quietly. "It wasn't this bad in the beginning."

Though that brought the anger back, she did her best to suppress it. Now wasn't the time. She could give him the cold shoulder when this was finished.

"Are you ready now?" he asked.

She opened her eyes slightly, watching the raindrops illuminated by the flashlight falling down upon them.

"Yeah… I think so."

A hand placed itself on her knee, and she twitched in anger. Yamato knew better than to put his hands on her now. She didn't want his affection nor his comfort.

"Stop touching me." She tilted her head to give him a side glance.

"I'm not…?"

Their eyes whipped to the grave, finding Kenji standing in his coffin with his hand resting on Megumi's leg. Screams left their throats as the sight registered. Megumi's leg reflexively shot up, kicking his arm away. They scrambled to run away.

"The shovels!" she yelled, looking back to the grave to find Kenji lifting himself out of it. "We need them if we want to protect ourselves—"

Yamato sprinted back to the grave. As Megumi waited with baited breath, she heard laughter in the trees around them. Yamato grabbed the shovels as Kenji got himself upright on the grass. The brunet had a thought and acted on it: trying to push Kenji back in the grave.

Kenji grabbed onto Yamato's arm with his only working hand now. He was sturdy as a rock.

"Just leave him, let's run!" she called for him.

Kenji lunged for Yamato, teeth bared. Yamato let go of the now zombie Kenji and dodged the lunge. The pair began running through the woody cemetery, hoping to find the gates.

"If we can get out of here, we'll be fine," Yamato reassured her. She didn't buy them being _fine,_ but she knew at least they'd be alive.

The stone wall was in sight! Hell, they could even hop that, they thought, if they worked together. Yamato looked behind them to find Kenji hot on their tail. He was only an arm's reach away at this point.

His neck was snapped still, and hung at an awkward angle as he maneuvered clumsily, but still fast, in the broken body. His limbs flailed about as they ran, like limp noodles. But every time his feet hit the ground they held him sturdy and propelled him faster and faster to chase them. His face, though, was the scariest thing of all to Yamato.

Furrowed brows with eyes rolled back in his head; they were all white, with droopy lids. His mouth hung open in a sloppy grin that let his tongue lay out and flap with every movement. It was like he was taking pleasure in this, as if it was a sick prank the real Kenji was pulling.

Megumi's scream pulled him out of his terrified trance. She'd skidded to a halt and began scrambling in the slippery mud to change directions. On the tree near the stone wall was what looked like a grown man in body paint, with the abdomen and legs of a black widow.

He cackled at the sight of them. His neck twisted a hundred and eighty degrees to stare down at them and show them his many fangs. A scream caught in his throat then as well, and he grabbed onto Megumi to try and steady himself so he didn't slip either.

They sprinted back into the woods, taking a sharp left. They knew then they were trapped in the cemetery.

"I should have listened to her," she cried. "I shouldn't have come no matter what! I should have listened!"

"You did the right thing!" he yelled, passing her. "You'd be heartless if you hadn't come!"

Another spider-man dropped from the trees in front of them. They screamed, halting to a stop and falling back in the mud as they lost their footing.

It cackled, and they wondered if it was the same one—no, because the other was crawling down from the trees behind it. There were more. They were all climbing down from the trees. Silhouettes from the edge of the woods were what looked like short, heavy ogres carrying barbed mallets.

Yamato's scream forced Megumi to tear her eyes away from the scene. She found Kenji pulling Yamato upright by the neck. She scrambled for the shovel and stood to swing it at Kenji's neck. A hot, sticky glue hit her hands before she could swing with such force she fell to the ground.

She tried standing up but found the substance on the shovel too—gluing her hands to it, and it to the ground. She struggled to slip out of the web, but it had cooled down to harden and trap her.

She looked back up to Yamato, who was being strangled, and all his best defense efforts were being ignored. It was as if this Kenji had no concept of pain. Every kick and blow went unnoticed.

Yamato's face was turning red, and she was worried she could see a tint of purple flourishing. She looked over her shoulder at the heavy footsteps, seeing the wide-set ogres making their way over.

Closing her eyes, she cursed herself. She deserved this, though. They both did…

Yamato gasped, and a thud hit the ground. She whimpered at the thought, she couldn't bear to open her eyes. Then, a grunt came. And another. Confused, Megumi opened her eyes.

"Who's next?" Shizuru stood over Kenji's headless body.

Megumi looked to the ghouls, who were refraining from cowering in fright at the sight of the wet, brunette heroine. An ogre sucked his teeth, and turned to flee. His men followed after him. The spider-men followed suit then too, jumping back up in the trees.

Megumi, face stained with mud and tears, looked up to Shizuru, who rested the bloody shovel over her shoulder leisurely. The brunette looked down to the frightened girl, who then looked away in shame and guilt.

"I'm sorry," Megumi cried.

Shizuru dropped the shovel and knelt in front of Megumi. She began picking at the hardened web in silence.

"I'm sorry," Megumi said again, tears spilling out. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm s—"

"It's fine," Shizuru replied softly. "I know why you came."

Guilt washed over Megumi with the rain, and her heart swelled. What had she ever done in life to deserve someone as good as the woman in front of her, she wondered. She rested her face on Shizuru's shoulders, sniffling and crying, but smiling.


	10. X

**X. TOO LATE.**

* * *

He coughed, finally able to breathe. Rolling over on the damp grass, he ignored the near decapitated head. He sat upright to see his savior, only to find her holding his very recent ex in her arms. The sight didn't anger him as much as it probably should have; instead, he was sad.

How did she even know when to come save them? How to find them? Had Megumi told her?

Guess he should thank her, he figured, coughing some more as his airway adjusted to being open again. His eyelids were heavy. He tried pushing himself upright but couldn't find the strength. He fell to the ground again, face first into the wet, muddy grass. His vision blurred as he watched the girl he still had feelings for cry into someone else's arms.

* * *

 **THE CAMPING NIGHT**

His grunts filled the damp air of the dark cave. His palms and fingers burned as he grabbed onto rocks; his nails bled warm as they dug into the wall for leverage. His breathing staggered as he tried to find another ledge to pause on. It felt like the last sturdy place he'd found to take a breather at was hours ago. It very well could have been, he thought.

Sucking his teeth, he gritted through the pain and continued climbing. His breathing was almost timed; it helped to focus on something other than the pain in his biceps and quads, and especially in his damn fingertips.

Another scrape; another timed, nasal exhale.

It was then he realized he wasn't the only one breathing hard.

"Yamato?" he called, only to receive no response. He tried again. "Yamato!"

Again, nothing, but the breathing seemed to be growing closer. It was haggard, mimicking his. He looked to his left, finding nothing close by-no cliff, no ledge. Then his right, the same. He quickened his pace as he climbed. Maybe he was close to where he fell from.

But nothing seemed to come. No ledge to grab onto. Just him, climbing, forever... He was glad he'd spent time doing sports and working out regularly, otherwise he wouldn't have made it even halfway to where he was.

He came to a slow as he found a hefty, sturdy rock to grab onto.

If the breathing wasn't coming from above or the sides, then...

This time, there was no sound, just the heat of someone else's breath on the back of his neck.

A scream left his mouth before he could hold it in, and he began frantically climbing. His body burned all over; he didn't bother looking back. Whatever it was breathing on him was laughing now, moving farther away from his ear at least.

If he could make it to the top…

He felt the heat of what felt like leather on his ankle just as he felt a ledge under his palm. He lifted himself up, but the monster's grip on him tried pulling him back down. He almost lost his grip on the ledge—who knew where he'd fall this time. Likely into the depths of hell itself, he thought.

Heart racing, blood rushing in his ears, he dug his bloody fingers into the dirt and started kicking at the monster behind him. Its grip tightened, and claws dug into taut flesh. He yelped and began flailing.

A sharp kick to what must have been its face made the grip loosen, and he scrambled far away from the ledge. Heavy breathing, heart racing, he stared off into the darkness as he reached to hold his bleeding ankle.

* * *

Megumi awoke warm. Her hands skated across the fabric as she kept her eyes closed. Ah, she was in bed. It was all a bad dream. She smiled, realizing that. Well, it wasn't all bad, she figured as she rolled over and curled more into the blanket that covered her. Shizuru showed up in her dream, after all.

The sound of a drawer opening caused her to jump in fright. It may have been a dream but that didn't mean the nightmare was over. She shot up in bed and looked around, only to find she didn't recognize the room she was in.

It wasn't a dream.

"Sorry, did I wake up?" Shizuru's voice came from the other end of the room, soothing Megumi's worries.

She sighed in relief. She was in Shizuru's room. She looked to the brunette, who seemed to have gotten out of the shower and changed into a pair of comfortable clothes.

"No, I was awake," she replied with a small smile. "I didn't realize I…"

"That you weren't in your room?" Shizuru gave a knowing smile.

Megumi nodded. There was a brief moment of heavy silence before Megumi opened her mouth again.

"Was last night…?"

Shizuru nodded. "Yeah."

"So everything really…?"

She nodded again. "Yup."

Megumi rested her head in her hands. "Shit." Then, it shot up. "His body!"

She threw her hands over her mouth as she realized how bad it sounded—how bad it was, considering she'd dug up a corpse last night.

"It's fine. Kazuma and I took care of it."

She sighed in relief and then paused. Something still was missing. It hit her hard in the gut. "Yamato?"

"He's fine," she replied simply as she began rummaging through her dresser drawer. She pulled out a few garments and began neatly folding them before placing them back in the drawer. "Kazu carried him home last night. He was coherent enough. Lay back down and get some rest. We'll talk about what steps to take next when you're feeling better."

Megumi hesitated, because as much as she wanted to find out what plan Shizuru had, she was still so mentally exhausted. She wasn't sure if she could sleep anymore, but she knew she could barely think as it was. Every thought was a challenge, as if she was digging it out the cold mud she was running in the night before.

Slowly, she found herself lying back down and curling into the blankets. Her eyes closed, and suddenly she didn't need to think anymore. Shizuru looked over her shoulder after she finished organizing her drawer, finding the girl with the loose curls sound asleep.

Quietly, she closed the room to her door behind her. Kazuma stood next to her in silence with a troubled expression. Her hands found their way into her denim jean pockets and she glanced over to him.

"Have something you want to say, little bro?"

"It wasn't that bad last time…" He shivered, his voice shaking a tad when he spoke. "It's like she's… I don't know, sis. She feels like death."

"Like Botan?"

He shook his head, his eyes thoughtfully on the ground. "…No. More like what Botan ferries around." Shizuru opened her mouth to respond, but Kazuma continued. "It's like she's cursed or something."

Shizuru's mouth closed and she too looked thoughtfully to the ground. They stood in silence. The only sounds around them were the soft creaking of the wood floors from their weight and the birds muffled, soft chirping from outside.

* * *

 **THE CEMETARY NIGHT**

Shizuru lay Megumi down gently as she passed out, and picked up her shovel. With one final swing of the shovel and grunt from the back of her throat, Kenji's head separated from his body. The brunette watched the head roll a couple inches before coming to a stop.

She heard the groaning near Megumi, and looked to see if any youkai hadn't learned their lesson yet. It was only Yamato, rolling over and struggling to sit upright. Giving Kenji's decapitated body one last look, she shoved the shovel's head into the moist dirt and headed over to check on Yamato.

She knelt next to him and checked his pulse and respiration, and found him using his free hand to hold his head. He let out a soft groan and sat upright without much help, and Shizuru dropped his wrist that she was checking.

"You alright?" she asked.

He grunted in response. Good, she thought, reaching to his collar to pull his face close to hers.

"Then I'd like to know what the hell you thought you were doing out here, digging up a body?" she snapped. "You knew damn well this was a lure and you fell right into it, and even dragged Megumi in it."

Yamato, disoriented, tried straightening his blurry vision on Shizuru. "I had to—"

"You apparently had to," she said. "Not Megumi."

She shoved him away from her, and he fell flat on his back with another grunt. His head was spinning, and his eyes rolled around in his head.

"If you weren't so useless right now I'd have you clean up your own mess," she grumbled, standing up and looking over her shoulder. "Kazu!"

"Sorry, sis…" Kazuma appeared from the wet woodwork, confused. "I had to take care of a couple youkai… I was going to let them go but they really wanted to pick a fight."

"It's fine…" she replied, heading back to the shovel. "Take that idiot home. He's coherent enough to tell you where he lives."

"You're going to clean all this up on your own?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I'll bring Megumi back home with me when I'm done. Just take care of that one over there."

Kazuma looked to Megumi's still body, laid peacefully on her back in a deep rest. He didn't like the idea of her being in his house but it wasn't like he had much choice. And to be fair, it was probably better if she was in his house. At least then she'd be easier to save.

He bent down and lifted Yamato's arm over his shoulder to hoist him up.

"You awake, man?" Kazuma asked.

Yamato grunted again, the only noise he could make.

"Well, grunt if I'm going in the right direction, I guess…" He lifted him up, and Yamato staggered onto his feet. Wet grass squeaked against Kazuma's sneakers as he slowly lead the way.

* * *

Megumi heaved a heavy breath, her chest rising and falling dramatically. She looked to Shizuru, eyes glossy and lips parted, with a longing look. Shizuru breathed softly, raking a hand through her hair to pull it back and letting her fringe fall back in place. She looked down to the girl, holding her hands gently.

"I… don't know if I can do this," Megumi whispered, breath hot as she looked away from the brunette.

Shizuru leaned closer, hands moving to caress her face. "You can. You need to." Her hands held Megumi's face before moving to grip her shoulders. "Michiru needs to know, remember?"

Shizuru stepped away from Megumi as a medical assistant passed by. She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone else was coming down the hospital hallway. Megumi, back against the wall, was looking at the ground with worry in her eyes. The young assistant adjusted her hair clip to pull her long black hair back before entering Michiru's observation room.

On one hand, Michiru may not even be coherent enough to understand what Megumi was going to tell her. On the other, it may send Michiru into another spiral. She needed to know what happened, didn't she? Or would it be better to let her think Kenji was alive?

If she got better, and found out what Megumi did, it may end up worse than whatever could happen here. At least here, Michiru was already in hysterics…

She also needed to know there was hope. That she and Shizuru were headed to someone who may know what to do; that they were headed over as soon as they left the hospital.

Megumi took another deep breath and looked up from the ground, determined to head in and tell Michiru. Her eyes fell upon Mrs. Maruyama walking by, and their brown eyes met. Mrs. Maruyama gave a small, sad smile to the younger girl, and bowed slightly to Shizuru when she noticed her. Shizuru returned the greeting.

"I'm glad you decided to visit," the older woman said as she adjusted her cardigan's sleeve so it didn't hang off her shoulder. Her sad smile still plastered on made Megumi's worry skyrocket. Had something happened last night? Had the woman gotten hold of her while Megumi was out dealing with a zombie? "They're transferring her to a special facility in Tokyo to better accommodate her…"

Megumi breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, it would be hard to visit Michiru now, but it wasn't anything she thought, at least…

"I'm sorry," Megumi quickly covered her expression. "I know it gets harder every day with no results…"

Shizuru glanced over her shoulder at the sound of shuffling feet, finding a group of medical personnel running towards them. A seed of worry was planted in her stomach, and Megumi and Mrs. Maruyama noticed next. They watched as they hurried into Michiru's observation room.

Three pairs of feet hurried to follow them, and Megumi watched over Mrs. Maruyama's shoulder as she stopped at the door's threshold. She could see Michiru through the observation window. Her body was limp and convulsing on the hospital bed, with a plastic fork shoved into her exposed jugular.

Blood spurt out in streams every few seconds, and Megumi couldn't manage to take her eyes off the peeled apart girl. Her skin was shredded to her torso, bandages unraveling and bloody stopped at her shoulders. Had she been clawing at herself before she finally snapped?

The doctor's had no qualms reaching their latex hands into Michiru's muscles. Megumi could see the heat from the gloves and muscles wafting onto the gloves. The blood spilled quickly, pouring off hands and onto white coats before falling into puddles on the floor. Her muscles convulsed, pulsing hard as hands gripped onto them tightly to keep them steady.

Megumi's eyes darted around the room. From Mrs. Maruyama crumpling to the ground in sobs, to the medical personnel working to save Michiru, to the Shizuru's face, to the corner of the room where the woman stood.

She stood expressionless. No guilt, no pride. She glanced over to Michiru as if she was a bystander, but Megumi knew better. She and Shizuru knew better. The woman disappeared, dissipating away in the darkness, leaving only sobs and shouts to fill Megumi's senses.


End file.
